Wild at Heart
by starlightwalking
Summary: Three young ThunderClan warriors have been thrust from their forest home and into the human world. Together, they must join the children of Annie and Ryan Crimsen to defeat an old enemy, and decide whether they will remain with their Twoleg friends, or prove they are wild at heart. {the FOURTH installment in THE CHAOS CHRONICLES} AU. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

_At long last, here it is! The fourth installment in my Chaos Chronicles series, just in time for the holidays!_

_Merry Christmas!_

_(Also, if you haven't read the first three stories in the Chaos Chronicles, this is likely to not make any sense at all. They're all located on my profile - Chaos in the Clans, Reaching Through Time, and Meddling with Destiny. If you could give those a read and then come back to Wild at Heart, that would be much appreciated!)_

* * *

**THE CHAOS CHRONICLES**

**WILD AT HEART**

* * *

"_I'll follow you where you're leading  
__To the first sweet taste of freedom  
__You got me runnin' baby,  
__Wild at heart..."_

—Gloriana, "Wild at Heart"

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

* * *

Annie turned restlessly in her sleep, grunting and shifting positions. One hand hung loosely from her bed; the other clutched her husband's arm. Beside her, Ryan slept like the dead, silent and still. Annie muttered and pulled the covers closer to her head. At last, she stopped moving and began to breathe more deeply, more at peace.

Her dreams had changed from odd to strange. Before, she had been dreaming of a bloody and vicious war between cows with laser eyes and vampiric unicorns, but her mind had now wandered elsewhere. She now dreamt of StarClan.

Sometimes she was Shadow, ancient and cranky founder of one of the great four Clans. Other times she was Snow, shaper of the mountain Tribe, sharing tongues with the Tribe of Endless Hunting. But now—as she most often was—she walked as Gingerstar, leader of ThunderClan during the Dark Forest War.

StarClan was bright and peaceful, just the way Annie liked it. She didn't often come here—the cats of the Warriors world usually left her alone—but when she did, it was for a reason. It rarely affected her personal life—not anymore, her questing days were over—but it still made her sigh slightly. StarClan, it seemed, would never stop needing her.

She nodded hello to the various cats she had known in her time, including her former Clanmates, her human-cat classmates, and cats she had grown to know only in death. Each of them seemed content, as was she: nearly twenty years of peace had passed since her last excursion into the Warriors world, and she had scarcely been bothered by StarClan in that time.

Annie had a life now, a life in the human world. A year after she and her husband Ryan had married, she had gone to college and earned a degree in teaching. She had taught high school for a few years as her husband worked as an engineer, but when he was promoted in his work, she left the public schooling system and became a private tutor.

After a few years, she and Ryan had decided to become parents. Now they had four children: three boys and a girl. They could be trying at times, but Annie and Ryan loved them.

Eldest was Samuel Jeffery Crimsen. He was named for Samantha Xavier, Annie's good friend and companion in the Warriors world twice over, and for Ryan's brother Jeffery, gone from the human world to live as Jay's Wing with the Ancient Tribe. Sammy, seventeen, often tried his parents' patience, but he was an excellent soccer player and very popular at school.

Kyle Braiden Crimsen was second, named for Annie's longtime deputy and human friend Kyle York, as well as his parents' cat son Brackentail. (They had taken the _Bra_ in _Bracken_ and found from it _Braiden_.) Kyle, fifteen, was shyer than his older brother, an A-grade student who preferred photography and art to sports.

Mason Oliver Crimsen was only named for one person: Annie and Ryan's cat son Owleyes. (The _O_ in _Owleyes_ had made them think of another name they liked, _Oliver_.) His parents picked the name _Mason_ simply because they liked it. Mason, thirteen, had a lovely tenor voice and loved to sing. He was a sweet-hearted boy.

Youngest of all was Holly Thalia Crimsen, the only girl. She had been named for Ryan's sister Hollyleaf, as well as her parents' cat child Thornfang. (_Thorn_..._Thalia_.) The whole family doted on the little princess, who could be a bit bratty at times, but was mostly very sweet. At seven years old, she spoke very fluently.

Annie smiled as she thought of her current life and her children, but continued to walk through the dazzling StarClan territory. She felt that this visit was different than the others—there was more of a sense of purpose to it, one she didn't feel when she came to just catch up with old friends. She made her way to the top of the tallest hill in StarClan and looked down upon the rest of the territory.

"It's beautiful, isn't it," a familiar voice said behind her.

Annie turned and smiled up at her old friend Darkstar of RiverClan, whom she knew as Gennie in the human world. "Gennie," she purred. "What are you doing here?"

Gennie smiled, her blue eyes bright, and sat next to her. "Just visiting, I think. You?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted, swishing her tail. "It feels...a little different."

"Maybe Star and Moon have a prophecy for you to deliver," Gennie suggested.

Annie frowned. "I'm...not really on speaking terms with them anymore."

"Come on, Moon's got a good head on her shoulders," the black-furred she-cat said persuasively.

Annie scowled. "I'm sure I've told you about what she and Star did to me."

Gennie sighed. "They've left you alone since, haven't they?"

"Well...yeah," Annie admitted.

"Then you shouldn't hold ThunderClan back by not getting a prophecy from them."

Annie sighed and nodded. "You're right, I know. I'll go talk to them and see what they want." She paused. "Hey, you know, I haven't talked to you in real life recently. Could you and the family come over for dinner some time? Are you busy next Saturday?"

"I don't think so," Gennie said thoughtfully. "I'll ask Elliot and email you." She smiled, the stood, her image fading. "I'm waking up—I think I need to feed the baby, she's screaming. Sound's getting fuzzy. Goodbye!"

"Bye, Gennie," Annie said warmly. She didn't envy her friend of the task of comforting a screaming baby. She was glad Holly was past that stage—well, Holly didn't bother her in the night, at least.

As Gennie faded back to the real world, Annie stood and made her way down the hill. A few minutes later, moving with the speed of the stars, she found herself outside the den of Star and Moon, first of all cats. They were the ones who saw the future and told the StarClan cats what was to come. It was up to StarClan to turn that information into mystical prophecies, however.

She hesitantly poked her nose through the opening. "Come in," a voice called.

Annie took a deep breath and walked in. Two ridiculously beautiful and perfect cats greeted: Star and Moon.

"Greetings," Star said, sounding rather bored. "How can we help you?"

Annie scowled at him. "Don't pretend you don't know me, Star."

He frowned at her for a moment. Then, suddenly, he opened his mouth. "Ahh," he exclaimed. "Yes. You. The bet I won. Hello, Annie."

"I'm sorry," Moon whispered to her. Star was oblivious.

Annie grunted. "Yeah, fine. Now...why did you call me here?"

"Oh...yes," Star said. "_That_ business."

"We just thought we would let you know we have nothing to do with what's going to come," Moon said. "Well..._mostly_ nothing. Besides that, we have no more information specifically for _you_."

"Amberstar, the current leader of ThunderClan, needs some enlightening, however," Star put in. "Summon her here to the Moonpool...and tell her to bring her three best young warriors with her. Tell her Dovewing wants to see her."

"And which ones would those be?" Annie asked cautiously.

Moon smiled. "She'll just have to figure that out for herself."

"Fine," Annie snapped. "So. Amberstar and three young warriors must come to the Moonpool, and what happens next _mostly_ isn't your fault."

"Yes," Star confirmed. He yawned and lay down. "You may go now."

"Goodbye, Annie," Moon murmured as she left.

Slightly worried, Annie quickly loped to the ThunderClan camp. She poked her head into the leader's den—_her_ old den—and gently prodded Amberstar.

The golden-colored she-cat was young, but she was wise for her age. She had led ThunderClan well so far, and showed promise to continue to do so.

Amberstar opened her pale yellow eyes and said in surprise, "Gingerstar?" The young leader recognized her, as Annie had given Amberstar her sixth life during the living cat's leader ceremony.

"Hello, Amberstar," Annie purred, trying her best to act like an aloof StarClan cat. She always hated visiting the living. She was too casual and hated giving mysterious prophecies. At least _this_ was only a summons—presumably it would be Dovewing who gave her the actual prophecy.

"Why are you here, Gingerstar?" Amberstar asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"I come to pass along a message," she said. "Dovewing wants to see you at the Moonpool as soon as possible. She asks you to bring your three best young warriors with you."

"Dovewing?" Amberstar asked nervously. It had been many, many moons since Dovewing had left ThunderClan due to her immortality, and she was both revered and feared by the living cats of the Clans. "Did she say which ones?"

Annie shook her head. "No, she said to let you choose."

Amberstar sighed. "Thank you, Gingerstar. Let her know I'm coming."

"I will," she said, dipping her head. "Goodbye."

"'Bye," Amberstar muttered, drifting back into her sleep. Annie turned and bounded out of her den and into the ThunderClan camp. She breathed in the familiar scent and smiled. She had missed her territory and her camp.

She felt herself fading back into the human world, her body tugging on her catlike spirit. She sighed and allowed herself to be pulled back home.

* * *

_\- So what do you think? Interesting enough to keep you reading for the next twenty-three chapters?_

_Read and review, please!_


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my gosh! Eleven reviews, and only one chapter?! Thank you all SO much for your support! :D

Just a heads up: I'm gonna be uploading new stories for other fandoms soon, as well as some more for Warriors, so updates here might become sporadic. I'll try to update often, though! If you're interested in The Kane Chronicles, How to Train Your Dragon (primarily the books), Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit (specifically Tauriel), or Tamora Pierce's Tortall books, and would like to read some fanfiction for those fandoms, I'd appreciate a follow, and you'd get some stories!

Thank you, and here's chapter two, introducing some of our protagonists! :)

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO**

* * *

Poolgaze was usually a deep sleeper. When she grew tired, she slept, and nothing could wake her from her slumber. Luckily for ThunderClan, she didn't snore. Her still body was often a pain to crawl over in the morning as the warriors crept out of their den for the dawn patrol.

On this particular night, she slept as deeply as she would on any other. She had no intentions of rising early; she was not scheduled for the dawn patrol. Unfortunately, Finchwing had another idea.

"Wake _up_," a voice muttered in her ear.

Poolgaze only groaned and turned over in her nest.

A paw prodded her sharply in the ribs, effectively rousing her to wakefulness. Grumpy, Poolgaze decided not let on.

"Why won't she wake up?" the voice complained to someone else.

Poolgaze sighed internally. It was Finchwing. She wouldn't rest until she had risen.

"I'm awake," she said through a yawn, cracking open her deep blue eyes.

"Oh, good," Finchwing said in relief. "Well, come on! Get up!"

"What do you want?" Poolgaze grumbled as she stood.

"That's what I'm saying," another cat said testily. Grayfeather. Well, if Finchwing wanted Poolgaze up, chances were Grayfeather would also be involved.

"You'll see," Finchwing said confidently, her amber eyes bright. "Come on, follow me!"

The lithe tabby she-cat turned and wove her way through the mess of sleeping warriors and out of the den. Grayfeather rolled her green eyes and followed her. Poolgaze, now much more awake, left too, more curious than disgruntled.

Finchwing led them out of the camp and through ThunderClan's territory. Poolgaze followed, listening to Grayfeather grumble to herself.

"Stupid...middle of the night...forest...tired..._ugh_," Grayfeather growled under her breath. If Poolgaze could hear her, she was sure that Finchwing could also, but the tabby she-cat chose to ignore Grayfeather's protests.

"Where are we going?" Poolgaze asked Finchwing.

The older warrior only flicked her ears in response, plunging further into the depths of the forest.

"She wouldn't answer me, either," Grayfeather groused. "Aloof, mysterious..._stupid_."

Poolgaze smiled. "Come on. This is bound to be fun, if she gets up this early!"

The gray-furred she-cat only snorted and rolled her eyes.

They walked on for a little longer. Then Finchwing turned and stopped, beaming at them. "Here we go!" she exclaimed.

"What is this?" Grayfeather demanded, squinting into the patch of forest in front of her. "All I see is a tree and..._oh_."

Poolgaze gasped, suddenly seeing it. The thing was huge—a strange den-like thing, looking like it was cut from a tree and stuck together with more trees, but without the leaves. It was ancient, old and crumbling, and the forest's greenery had mostly overtaken it.

"What is it?" she asked in wonder, her clear blue eyes wide.

Finchwing purred, sitting up proudly. "I heard one of the elders talking about it yesterday, and I couldn't sleep tonight, so I went looking. It's a Twoleg nest."

"There used to be _Twolegs_ in our territory?" Grayfeather said in awe.

Finchwing shrugged. "A very long time ago, before the Clans arrived at the Lake. Jayfeather—one of the Three—found catmint here and used it to save the Clans, way back when."

"You really believe those stories?" Grayfeather said incredulously. "About the Three, with magic powers and all?"

Finchwing shoved her friend playfully. "Of course! If you don't believe in the Three, do you even believe in StarClan?"

"Well..." Grayfeather hesitated. "I do believe in StarClan. But the Three? That sounds like made-up stories to me. I mean, come on. Reading minds? Invincibility? Super senses? That's ridiculous. Not to mention the other stories—going back in time, vanishing, becoming immortal...it's stupid. They're made up stories, just for kits."

"Grayfeather," Poolgaze said placatingly. "Come on. You loved those stories when you a kit—even when you were an apprentice!"

Grayfeather rolled her green eyes. "I'm a _warrior_ now. I don't have time for Twoleg nests and kit stories."

"Come on, Grayfeather," Finchwing said placatingly. "Where's your adventuresome spirit? Your sense of wonder?"

"I don't have one," the gray-furred she-cat snapped, her eyes flashing. "I don't need one anymore." She whirled around and stalked away. "I'm going back to camp. I need to sleep, I've got dawn patrol."

Finchwing scowled, her amber eyes darkening as they stared at Grayfeather's retreating figure. Poolgaze stared at her, her eyes wide with shock.

"What are you looking at?" the golden tabby snapped.

"N-nothing!" Poolgaze squeaked. Out of the three of them, she was the youngest. Finchwing and Grayfeather were littermates, and Poolgaze had always been a moon behind them in training. Still, she had worked twice as hard and had earned her reward when she was made a warrior at the same time as Finchwing and Grayfeather. Still she strove to prove herself to her older friends, especially the fiery and enigmatic Finchwing.

"I'll go exploring the nest with you," Poolgaze offered, smiling timidly. "That...is why you brought us here, right?"

Finchwing scowled. "Yeah. I don't really want to do it without Grayfeather, though."

"Oh...okay," she said quietly. "Are...we going back then?"

The golden-furred tabby sighed. "Yeah, I guess so." She grinned at Poolgaze. "She sure is a grump when she's tired, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Poolgaze agreed. She remembered their other nighttime frolics, mostly from their apprenticeship. Grayfeather had always trailed behind unenthusiastically, though she had always come and gotten into it after a while.

"She's always been that way," Finchwing confided, padding away from the Twoleg den. Hastily, Poolgaze trotted after her. "Ever since we were born. Though you know that as well as I, Tagalong."

Poolgaze smiled to hear her kithood nickname. The two sisters had at first teased and mistreated her when she tried to play with the older kits, calling her "Tagalong", but eventually they accepted her and used it as a term of endearment.

"She'll come tomorrow afternoon," Finchwing added confidently.

"She won't be nearly so tired then," Poolgaze agreed.

They arrived at the camp and crawled back into their nests, careful not to disturb the senior warriors, like they had done for moons and even seasons to the ones they had trained with in their early apprenticeship.

Grayfeather was already there, curled up and asleep. Poolgaze settled into her nest, her blue-gray fur fluffed up against the night's chill.

"Goodnight, Finchwing," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"G'night, Poolgaze," the other she-cat sighed in return.

* * *

The next afternoon, Finchwing gathered them all up again. Grayfeather, though she sighed and rolled her eyes, agreed to come now that it wasn't the middle of the night.

Poolgaze was excited to go on another adventure. They hadn't done something quite like this since they were apprentices. Finchwing seemed bright and happy, too, and even Grayfeather had some of the old gleam in her eyes as they left the camp to go traipsing through the forest in search of the Twoleg nest.

They had barely stepped foot outside the camp when a voice called out, "Finchwing? Finchwing!"

The golden she-cat sighed and rolled her eyes. "Thorntail," she muttered in exasperation. "Not _again_."

Poolgaze smiled sympathetically. Thorntail was trying to court Finchwing, even though she had made it clear she was uninterested. He often butted his way into their conversations to flirt.

"What is it this time?" Finchwing demanded, turning to face the broad-shouldered black tom.

He blinked, surprised at her irritation. "Calm down, sweetheart!" he exclaimed, smiling. "As much as I'd _love_ to stay and talk some—"

"Don't you always," Grayfeather commented under her breath.

"—I've got to go on patrol. No, Amberstar sent me," Thorntail explained.

"Amberstar?" Poolgaze said in surprise, tuning into the conversation.

"She wants to see you three in her den. Something about the Moonpool," he said flippantly. "I'll catch you a starling, sweetie!" he called out as Finchwing pushed past him, heading back through the camp entrance.

"I can catch my own prey!" she snarled back at him. "Thanks for the message, but leave me alone!"

"I wonder what Amberstar wants," Grayfeather said thoughtfully as they crossed the camp, heading to the leader's den.

"Let's find out," Finchwing said boldly, leaping up the rocks. "Amberstar? You wanted to see us?"

"Yes," their leader's voice said from behind the lichen covering the entrance. "Please...come in. We have much to discuss."

* * *

_\- Read and **review**!_


	3. Chapter 3

Aaand here are the other protagonists!

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

* * *

Kyle got home from his friend Tyler's house at two PM, but his day was far from over.

He slammed the door closed and took off his shoes, calling out, "Mom! I'm home!"

"Good job, honey!" she called back, a little snarkily. Kyle rolled his eyes. And she told _him_ to watch his attitude. "I'm with a student right now, how about you fix yourself a snack, then help out Holly and Mason?"

"'Kay, Mom!" he replied, taking off his shoes. He walked over to the kitchen, running a hand through his blonde hair, inherited from his father, and pulled out a bag of chips from the pantry. His little sister Holly sat coloring a picture of Simba from _The Lion King_ on the counter. He sat down next to her and commented, "You know, Simba's yellow, not green."

"I can do what I want, Kyle!" she exclaimed. "It's better this way."

"All right," he agreed, shoving some chips in his face. "Where's Sammy?"

"Dunno," Holly said, focusing on the picture of the lion cub she was defacing. "Ask Mason."

"Where's Mason?"

Holly pointed down the hall. "Music room."

"Thanks, sis," he told her. "Here, have the rest." He tossed her the half-empty bag of chips, which she caught in delight. Kyle stood up and walked down to the music room, where the sounds of a pure tenor voice rang out clearly. Mason was practicing.

Kyle opened the door and said cheerfully, "Hey, Mason."

The young boy faltered and stopped singing, looking up at his older brother. "What do you want, Kyle?"

"Where's Sammy?" Kyle asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Soccer practice," Mason answered. "He went with Gregor. Said he wouldn't be back 'til evening."

Kyle scowled. "He owes me ten bucks. He told me he'd pay me back today."

"There's still time," Mason said with a shrug. He leaned down and flipped some pages in his music. "Can you play for me?"

"Homeward Bound?" he asked, walking in and shutting the door behind him.

"Yeah," his little brother confirmed. "Have you practiced since last time?"

"Some," Kyle said. "Move over." He sat down at the piano and began to play. It was a slow piece, very sweet and solemn.

After a few measures of introduction, Mason began to sing. "_In the quiet misty morning, when the moon has gone to bed...When the sparrows stop their singing, and the sky is clear and red..._"

Kyle focused on his music, trying not to mess up while still listening to his brother's beautiful tenor voice.

"_When the summer's ceased its gleaming, when the corn is past its prime...When adventure's lost its meaning, I'll be homeward bound in time..._"

Kyle smiled and crescendoed his playing as the music intensified. He had to focus more on the movements of his fingers than the lyrics of the song.

"_Bind me not to the pasture, chain me not to the plow...Set me free to find my calling, and I'll return to you somehow!_"

The song went on, and Kyle was prepared to play it, but Mason stopped him.

"Can we go over measure eleven again?" he asked. "I wasn't breathing right."

"Sure," Kyle said, backing up.

They practiced for another half hour, until Mason complained his voice was tired. By then, their mother was done with the student she was tutoring, and Kyle was able to talk to her.

"So, how was Tyler?" Annie Crimsen asked her son.

Kyle shrugged. "Cool. We hung out, played some video games."

"You know, when I was your age—"

"Yeah, yeah," Kyle interrupted, rolling his eyes. "You and Dad and your cousins did things like exploring caves and getting lost in the forest."

His mom nodded. "Of course, I admit I spent a lot of time on the computer. But still. Why don't you and Tyler go to the park next time?"

"And do what?" he demanded. "Sit and look at clouds? _Boring_."

Annie shrugged. "You could go camping."

Kyle groaned. "Then Dad would want to come along."

"Why not?" Annie suggested. "You and your brothers and Tyler, maybe Gregor and Isaac too, and their fathers—"

Kyle pulled a face. "Definitely not."

"Well, did you help Mason when you got home?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I played Homeward Bound for him."

"Good." Annie nodded and took a sip of water. "Sammy said he'd be home late. You might have to do his dishes."

Kyle groaned. "Really? Why can't Mason do it—or Holly?"

"Holly's too young," his mother explained. "And Mason did it last night."

"I have to do it tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow's Saturday," Annie disagreed. "You remember my friend Gennie? We're going out to dinner with her family."

"Right," Kyle grumbled. "I'll do Sammy's stinking dishes." He stood up. "I'm gonna go watch some TV, okay?"

"Fine," Annie said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "Just don't forget that the outside world exists, too!"

Kyle did end up doing Sammy's dishes that night, finishing up just as his older brother slammed the door closed.

"Hey family!" the older boy shouted. "I'm home!"

"What an achievement," Kyle said sarcastically, wiping his hands dry. "Having fun while I did _your_ dishes?"

"Chillax, Kyle," Sammy said, grinning. "Nah, practice was a bit rough. Thomas—our goalie—called in sick, so we had to get a sub, and they were all awful. Coach was pissed by the end."

"Sammy! Sammy!" Holly cried out, racing down the hall, holding up her picture proudly. "Lookit what I did!"

"That's great, Holly," he praised her. "Love the green."

The seven-year-old beamed, her dark curls bouncing as she ran back down the hall.

"Is Dad home?" the soccer player asked, taking off his dirty cleats and tossing them in a pile with the other shoes.

"Working late," Kyle replied.

"Is the next episode of Blue Moon any good?" Sammy asked.

Kyle shrugged. "Dunno," he said. "Haven't seen it yet."

"I'll watch it with you," his older brother offered. "Soon as I shower. Make some food for me, okay, bro?"

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll heat something up for you."

"Thanks, man," Sammy said appreciately. He walked away and stomped up the stairs, heading to the shower.

The episode of Blue Moon was pretty good, though Kyle was a little upset that Bridget and Jeremy didn't get together (_again_). Their dad, Ryan Crimsen, came home just as it ended and sang along obnoxiously to the ending theme as the credits rolled.

"Hi, Dad," Kyle greeted him while Sammy shoved his face into a throw pillow, trying to block out his father's caterwauling.

"Hey, boys," Ryan said, plopping down next to his sons. "Was it any good?"

"Yeah, I liked it," Sammy said.

"Bridgemy still isn't canon," Kyle complained.

"Nerd," Sammy teased, elbowing his younger brother.

Kyle only rolled his eyes. Just because he was active in the Blue Moon fandom... At least his parents understood, to some extent. They had really liked this weird kid series about cats, _Warriors_, when they were young, to the extent that his mom had even written some fanfiction. Kyle hadn't tried to read it after he found out it was self-insert, and thus, inherently not any good.

"It's late," Ryan said. "You two should go to bed."

"It's _summer_," Kyle complained.

"It's not like we have to get up early tomorrow," Sammy agreed.

"What else are you going to do tonight?" their father demanded.

Sammy shrugged. "Dunno."

"Mom says I should remember that outside exists," Kyle said craftily. "We could go for a walk outside."

Ryan shrugged. "Okay, fine. But be back by eleven, and don't leave the neighborhood."

"I'll grab my shoes," he said, pleased, getting to his feet.

"Mason will be jealous," Sammy commented as the walked along the lamplit sidewalks.

"That's his problem. "Kyle grunted. "You talked to Becca recently?"

"She's old news, bro," Sammy said, shaking his head. "We broke up a month ago."

"You got your eyes on any other girls?"

His older brother shrugged. "Not anyone in particular. I mean, there are some hot chicks out there, but, like, no one I really want to date, you know?"

"Mhm," Kyle agreed.

"You should get a girlfriend, Kyle," Sammy said, grinning down at his younger brother. His dark hair blended into the night, making his pale skin look even paler in the thin light from the streetlamps.

Kyle laughed. "Like you said—there are lots of hot girls, smart girls, nice girls, whatever...but no one I feel like dating. Maybe when school starts up again."

"You're a sophomore next year, right?" Sammy asked. Kyle nodded. His brother smiled, looking up. "I'm so glad I'm a senior. All my hard classes are done with, and only one more year left!"

They walked a little further. Kyle shivered. It was summer, but the night was still a little chilly. He wished he'd thought to bring a hoodie or something.

"We should probably go back," he said as they reached the end of the neighborhood.

Sammy shrugged his shoulders and turned around. Kyle was about to do so as well, until he heard a horrified yelp from somewhere to his left.

"What was that?" he whispered in surprised.

"Probably a dog," Sammy said carelessly. "You've been watching too much Blue Moon, man. Jump too easy."

The noise came again. It was definitely not a dog—it sounded human.

"That's not a dog," Kyle said warily.

Sammy scowled. "So what?"

"We should go investigate," Kyle urged. "Make sure they're alright."

"I'm going to regret this," Sammy groaned, glancing up to the heavens. He took his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms. "All right, fine. Let's go take a look."

* * *

\- _Read and **review!**_


	4. Chapter 4

Here we are, catching back up with our three ThunderClan cats! Oh, and what's this? A new POV? How interesting!

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR**

* * *

Frankly, Grayfeather was glad Thorntail had sent them to Amberstar's den. She was growing very tired of her sister's games. They were warriors now, and they ought to start acting like it. What was worse was that Finchwing kept dragging Poolgaze into this. Grayfeather had always thought she could count on the younger she-cat to listen to her sensible wisdom, but the blue-furred warrior seemed glad to go along with Finchwing's antics.

It was only in the sake of keeping their friendship together that Grayfeather had agreed to go to the Twoleg nest during the day. She drew a line at waking up in the middle of the night, but if Finchwing wanted an adventure during the day...well, fine. Grayfeather would come along if her sister begged.

The three young she-cats walked into the leader's den and sat down in front of Amberstar. Their leader was young, only a few seasons older then they were, and very new at her job. With the counsel and guidance of the senior warriors, she was growing to be a thoughtful, well-informed leader, and someone that Grayfeather appreciated.

Amberstar flicked her golden-furred tail, her pale gray eyes meeting Finchwing's yellow. "Thank you for coming," she said with a smile.

"We're glad to," Grayfeather said graciously.

Amberstar nodded to her and Poolgaze. "Last night," she began, getting down to business, "I received a visit from a StarClan cat. Gingerstar."

"The Dark Forest War leader?" Poolgaze said, leaning forward, her blue eyes alight with interest.

Amberstar nodded. "Gingerstar led our Clan through one of our darkest hours, and though she is not famous throughout the Clans like her predecessor Firestar, she is still one of the most memorable leaders of ThunderClan." She coughed, then continued, "She told me that Dovewing wished to see me at the Moonpool—and that she wanted me to bring three of my brightest young warriors with me."

Grayfeather comprehended what Amberstar was implying immediately. "Oh, thank you, Amberstar!" she exclaimed with a smile. "I'm very flattered, I'm sure we all are—"

Finchwing flashed her an annoyed look, then interrupted her, saying, "Yes, thanks very much."

Poolgaze nodded, her eyes bright. "You really mean it?" she asked in excitement.

"Yes," Amberstar confirmed. "We'll go tonight. It's not too far, we'll be back by morning."

"Thank you, Amberstar!" Grayfeather repeated, smiling widely.

Their leader nodded her head and dismissed them. Nearly bursting with excitement, Grayfeather began to talk rapidly as soon as they left her den.

"Do you believe it?" she asked in elation. "We're going to the _Moonpool_! With _Amberstar_! How's that for an adventure, huh, Finchwing?"

Her sister rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "It would be more fun if we were going by ourselves."

"I'm so excited!" Poolgaze beamed. "Why do you think she picked us to come?"

Finchwing grinned, showing her sharp, white teeth. "Because we're excellent warriors, of course. I'm bold and adventurous, and a fantastic fighter. You're smart and thoughtful and an excellent hunter. And Grayfeather's dutiful and full of flattery."

"Hey!" Grayfeather exclaimed, shoving her sister. "I'm good for more than that!"

Finchwing smiled and laughed. "I'm just kidding, Grayfeather."

She huffed and shoved her again. "Fine."

"So are we going to the Twoleg nest now?" Poolgaze asked hopefully.

Before Finchwing could agree, Grayfeather interjected and said quickly, "We need to be here when Amberstar leaves. Let's not today."

Finchwing scowled, but said reluctantly, "Yeah, Grayfeather's right. We'll go some other time, 'kay, Poolgaze?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I understand."

"Let's go get something to eat, then," Grayfeather suggested. Then she padded off toward the fresh-kill pile, ready to eat.

* * *

An hour or so later, Amberstar walked out of her den. With a flick of her tail, she summoned her deputy, Icefang, and murmured to him. He nodded in understanding, then leapt back down to the camp floor.

Amberstar walked down and greeted the three young she-cats. "It is time," she told them gravely.

"Let's go!" Finchwing exclaimed with a smile.

Amberstar led the three of them out of the camp, her head held high. A few cats called out greeting to their leader, which the gold-furred she-cat returned with a nod and a smile.

Poolgaze murmured to Finchwing in the back of their small party, leaving Grayfeather at the front with Amberstar.

"Why has Dovewing the Ancient called us to the Moonpool?" she asked ThunderClan's leader.

Amberstar shrugged. "I don't know. All Gingerstar said was that all would be revealed in time."

"Very vague," Grayfeather sniffed disapprovingly.

The older she-cat only smiled. "StarClan always is."

"That can be rather annoying," she observed.

"It is, at times," the golden-furred leader agreed. "But trust in StarClan. Our warrior ancestors know what they are doing."

They walked in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest. Then Grayfeather, a little troubled, said uncertainly, "Amberstar? Do...do you really believe in the old stories, about the Three?"

Amberstar turned to her, blinking surprised gray eyes. "Well, of course I do!"

"See, I told you!" Poolgaze exclaimed victoriously.

Grayfeather frowned, confused and doubtful. "But...really? Even the parts about silly things like going back in time and reading minds and all?"

"Yes," Amberstar purred. "I do believe it. It's our history."

"Hmm," Grayfeather mused. She still wasn't so sure.

They reached the WindClan border and hopped the stream. Amberstar led them confidently upstream through WindClan's territory.

"Won't WindClan be upset that we're traveling in their territory?" Poolgaze asked in a nervous tone.

"Cats of every Clan are allowed to travel travel to the Moonpool without interference," Amberstar explained. "Not even Ironstar would violate that law."

Grayfeather nodded in agreement. While WindClan's leader Ironstar was a fierce old warrior and an inspiring leader to his cats, he despised ThunderClan. Even still, cats journeying to the Moonpool—even cats from other Clans—were protected by the warrior code.

After a short while, the sun set and the moon rose. Their twin colors mingled together in the twilight, staining the sky a deep and muddled purple. Soon the air darkened, and bright, twinkling stars lit up the night.

Gradually, the sounds of the giggling stream deepened into the gentle murmur of a splashing pond.

"We are almost there," Amberstar said gravely.

Grayfeather smiled, trying to contain her excitement. The stream turned a corner. The four cats followed it, and she gasped in awe.

Here the border stream had its start in a pond surrounded by pale gray stone. A small fall of water cascaded down a short rock face and into the clear pool, sparkling with the reflection of the starlight.

Sitting in front of the Moonpool, her head bowed, was a small gray-furred she-cat, her tail wrapped around her stationary body. A faint glow rose off her body, silver in the starlight.

She lifted her head, revealing pale green-blue eyes. "I have been waiting for you," she said in greeting, her voice soft.

Respectfully, Amberstar dipped her head. Hurriedly, Grayfeather followed suit, anxious to impress this wondrous stranger. She could sense Finchwing and Poolgaze behind her doing the same.

"Dovewing," their leader said reverently.

"Come, Amberstar," Dovewing instructed her. "StarClan wishes to speak to you and give you guidance. Drink from the Moonpool, and sleep."

Amberstar nodded and padded up to the water. She laid down beside it, then lapped up a few mouthfuls, before closing her eyes with a sigh and falling asleep.

Uncertainly, Grayfeather took a step forward.

"No," Dovewing warned. "Not you three." She stood up and walked closer to them. "Hmm," she murmured. "So, she chose you...I suppose you will work..."

"Excuse me?" Finchwing said, sounding both confused and slightly offended.

Dovewing nodded, meeting the golden tabby's amber eyes. "Forgive me. I am so alone here...I forget my manners. Please, sit."

Warily, the three young she-cats obeyed her gentle command.

"You have a long journey ahead of you," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" Poolgaze asked shyly.

"You will see," Dovewing said vaguely.

Finchwing scowled, and for once, Grayfeather had to agree. This mystery nonsense was growing very old, very quickly.

Poolgaze, however, seemed content with that answer. The Tagalong never did question orders, she reflected, even when they were orders worth questioning.

"There is evil afoot," Dovewing said sadly. "And only you can stop it."

"What?" Grayfeather said in alarm.

"Really?" Finchwing said eagerly, almost at the same time. The sisters glared at each other, then looked back to the ancient guardian of the Clans.

"Your task will be hard," Dovewing continued, "but it will save the Clans in more ways than you can imagine."

Finchwing grinned in excitement. Of course. This was just her thing—at last, a _real_ adventure. Grayfeather wanted no part in this, but she couldn't bring herself to say no to such a mythical cat.

"Are you really alive?" she asked instead. "Like the stories say? Or are you just a StarClan cat?"

"I am alive," Dovewing answered her. "The guardian of the Clans. But I cannot do my work alone. Will you agree to this? Will you save the Clans?"

"Of course!" Finchwing exclaimed, her amber eyes shining with excitement.

"Yes," Poolgaze agreed.

Grayfeather hesitated, but the pleading look in her sister's eyes finally won her over. "Oh, alright," she grumbled.

"Then go to the pool, and drink," Dovewing instructed.

They approached the water and lapped it up. Grayfeather's tongue burned cold with fiery starlight, and she felt her vision grow fuzzy. A strange mist of pinkish-orange filled her view, and all she remembered before her world went dark was a terrible sense of betrayal, and a cry for her mother, back safe in the ThunderClan camp.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, I'm not dead! Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while - I had finals. Bleugh. And then I accidentally joined the Lord of the Rings fandom.

Since I last updated this fic, I wrote three oneshots (one for the Belgariad/Malloreon and two for the Hobbit). If you like either of those things, I'd appreciate them if you dropped a review!

Well, here's chapter five - I'll try to update weekly once more, but no promises! Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER FIVE**

* * *

Finchwing could feel the change in her bones and her fur. It didn't hurt, but she couldn't help feeling alarmed. She had been so very excited for her adventure that she had raced to the Moonpool and eagerly taken a sip of the waters.

Now this was happening. The mist had been bad enough, but now her body was...changing. It tingled and frightened her. What was going on?

She wanted to cry out, to speak to Grayfeather and Poolgaze, but it was to no avail. Her mouth wasn't working properly. She screamed internally, until finally she fell with a thump to the ground, scraping bare skin on rough, stinking stone.

For a little while, she just laid there, trying in vain to comprehend what had happened to her. At last, Finchwing groaned and tried to sit up, only to fall back down in shock and horror.

She wasn't a cat anymore.

What was wrong with her? she thought in panic. She tried to push herself up with spindly, furless arms, and she looked down at her new body.

In disgust and terror, she realized that she had somehow become a Twoleg. Finchwing groaned and lifted her arms, examining them. Thin, wispy hairs covered them and her disproportionately long legs—why were they not the same length as her arms?—and the rest of her body. She seemed to be thin for a Twoleg. She hadn't seen very many of the strange creatures in the forest, but she did know that they were a diverse species, much like cats, coming in all shapes, shades, and sizes.

Her skin was a paler color, though it had a tannish tinge to it that was hard to make out in the scant light. She pulled at her head fur, the only substantial kind Twolegs had, until she could hold some in front of her face. It was a reddish color, almost the same shade as her cat fur had been.

She let out a little sob, feeling her eyes water. Was this some strange Twoleg thing as well? Did their eyes get wet when they were sad?

Finchwing looked around, trying to adjust to her new body. She could see two other Twolegs nearby, one curled up in a ball, one lying flat on the ground.

"Grayfeather?" she asked hesitantly. "Poolgaze?"

The one on the ground groaned and sat up. She had soft brown head fur and Grayfeather's pale green eyes and skin the same color as her own.

"Finchwing?" the brown-furred Twoleg asked in Grayfeather's voice.

"Yeah, it's me," she said in a trembling voice.

The Twoleg in the curled position sat up straight. She was small, with dark black hair and Poolgaze's clear blue eyes. "Oh StarClan," she whimpered in a broken voice. It was clearly their little Tagalong. "We're...we're Twolegs!" She let out a loud, raucous sob that sounded awfully like a yelp.

"Keep it down!" Grayfeather protested. She scowled. "Dovewing tricked us! That dirty traitor..."

"No, no!" Finchwing disagreed. "She probably meant for this to happen! This is part of our quest!"

Poolgaze let out another high-pitched sob. "We'll be stuck like this forever! We'll never get back to ThunderClan!"

Finchwing clumsily got to her feet. She felt all sorts of odd muscle movements and made a face. She, along with the other two, wore some sort of Twoleg overpelt. Hers was a thin, reddish-orange thing that hung over her top half. A tight band of the stuff covered and supported two jiggling bags of flesh fat on her chest. She also had an overpelt on her legs. The others were wearing similar overpelts, only in different colors.

Grayfeather got up as well. The sisters sighed and exchanged glances, then pulled Poolgaze up to her feet as well. She looked noticeably younger than Grayfeather and Finchwing, with bigger eyes and a little more fat on her belly, along with a shorter stature.

"What are we going to do?" Poolgaze asked in a small voice. She sniffled, wiping her teary eyes.

"Oh my God," an alien voice said from behind them.

Finchwing turned, instinctively balling her paw-fists and crouching down into a fighting position. She whirled around to see two more Twolegs, both flat-chested and short-haired, which meant they were toms.

One of them had dark brown hair, and other had blonde. Their features were similar enough that they could be related. The one who had spoken was the dark-haired male.

"Are you guys okay?" the blonde-haired one asked in concern. "We heard noises, so we came to investigate."

Finchwing relaxed slightly, standing up straight. She frowned at the dark-furred Twoleg. "I...yes, we're fine."

"Finchwing," Grayfeather hissed. "Be careful. We don't know if we can trust them."

"Hey, chill, babe," the dark-haired one said with a winning smile. "We aren't out to hurt you. You guys sure that you're fine? You don't need a walk home or anything?"

"Um..." Poolgaze glanced at Finchwing, then back at the Twoleg males. "I'm thirsty, actually. Is there any water around here?"

"And food?" Finchwing added. She felt her stomach rumble.

"Wow, you guys sure you don't need a ride home?" the dark-haired tom-Twoleg asked in surprise. "I'm sure our parents won't mind if we borrowed the car for a bit."

"Finchwing, what are you doing?" Grayfeather hissed. "We can't trust them!"

"I'm going to," she hissed back. "I'm in charge here!"

"Says who?" her sister demanded.

Finchwing elbowed the other she-Twoleg out of the way. "Says me." She smiled prettily at the males. "I'm sorry, but we don't actually live around here. Do you know of a place we could stay tonight?"

"All three of you?" the lighter-furred one asked. "Well...I guess so. We'd have to ask our parents first."

"Kyle..." the other Twoleg said hesitantly. "Are you sure—"

"We can at least get them some food and water," the lighter-haired one reasoned.

"All right, fine," the darker-haired one said with a sigh. He turned back to them and said, "I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Samuel Crimsen, but you can call me Sammy. This here's my little brother Kyle."

"Hi," Kyle said with a wave. Hesitantly, Finchwing waved back.

"Follow us," Sammy said, turning and walking along the path.

They were in a Twolegplace. It seemed much smaller now that they were bigger and taller, and even though it smelled bad, it wasn't nearly as nasty as it would have been if they were still cats.

"Are we going to tell them our names?" Poolgaze hissed as they walked along.

"Sure," Finchwing agreed.

"But we don't have Twoleg names!" Grayfeather protested. "We have warrior names!"

"So?" she said. She raised her voice and said, "I guess we'll tell you our names, too. I'm Finchwing." She pointed to the brown-haired she-Twoleg. "She's my sister, Grayfeather."

"And I'm their friend Poolgaze," the black-furred female piped up.

"Nice names," Sammy said in amusement.

"Are they like code names or something?" Kyle asked.

"No," Grayfeather said frostily. "Those are our real names."

"Are you girls like Native American?" Sammy asked.

"What?" Poolgaze said blankly.

"We're not from here," Finchwing explained. She knew that they would think she was crazy if she said that they were supposed to be cats, so she improvised. "We got a little lost."

"How did you _get_ here?" Kyle asked suspiciously.

"There was this pool—" the young Poolgaze piped up. A stern glare from Finchwing shut her up, but it only left the male Twolegs curious.

Kyle muttered something to his brother, but Sammy only laughed and exclaimed, "You've been watching too much Blue Moon, bro. Nerd."

Kyle sighed and rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Sammy stopped and turned, walking toward one of the Twoleg nests.

"This is our house," he explained. "Come on in."


	6. Chapter 6

Yeah...sorry it took me so long to get this up, I'm super busy with school and homework. I don't think I can keep up once weekly updates, not with school and everything else. But I'll update this when I can! Thanks for waiting!

Here's chapter six, told for the first time from Sammy Crimsen's POV...

* * *

**CHAPTER SIX**

* * *

Sammy led the girls into the house, opening the door quietly. He looked around, exchanging a look with Kyle. He wasn't sure how their parents would take this, though he suspected they would be good sports about it.

He glanced over to the redheaded girl, Finchwing. Man, those names were weird. Still, they did say they weren't "from here". Maybe they were from another country or something.

Anyway, that redhead was hot. He had to tear his gaze away from her and act like everything was normal. She seemed pretty badass, too, which was something he liked in girls. If she—and the other two—were staying, maybe he could have a chance with her.

Or maybe not. She glared back at him frostily, and Sammy hastily looked away. She didn't seem to like him very much, though she was cordial enough when asking for a place to stay.

"Hey, Dad! Mom!" Kyle called out beside him. "There's...um...something we need to talk about! Like...right now!"

Their mother, dressed in pajamas, stomped down the stairs. "Hi, boys," she said with a smile. "Back so soo—who are they?" Her tone changed from welcoming to sharply suspicious as she saw the three girls in the doorway.

"Yeah," Sammy said. "That was what we need to talk about."

"These girls were lost out at the front of the neighborhood," Kyle explained. "We asked them if they needed any help, and—"

"—and they said they needed food, water, and a place to stay," Sammy finished. By now, their father had also come downstairs and was listening with interest. "We thought we might be able to help, if you let us."

Annie frowned. "Are you girls sure you need a place to stay? I could give you a ride home, if you need one."

"No, we definitely need a place to stay," Finchwing said firmly.

"If you're willing," the brown-haired girl, Grayfeather, added.

"Please?" the black-haired girl, Poolgaze, asked hopefully.

Annie exchanged a glance with her husband. "Well..."

"Kyle can sleep with Sammy," Ryan suggested. "The girls can sleep in Kyle's room." He glanced at the girls. "But not forever, you understand. One or two nights at most. Then we'll get you home."

"I'll have to cancel the dinner with Gennie," Annie sighed.

Kyle groaned. "But I'll have to do the dishes tomorrow, too!"

"Sammy can do them," Annie said. She turned to the girls. "And what are your names?"

"I'm Finchwing," she said. "That's Grayfeather, and she's Poolgaze."

Annie paled visibly. Sammy watched in confusion as she exchanged an almost frightened look with Ryan, but she regained her composure somewhat and said firmly to the boys, "Go to bed. Kyle, clean up your room and take your things to Sammy's room. I'll come up and check on you in a little bit."

"Mom!" Kyle complained. "But I—"

"Now, Kyle," Ryan said, firmly backing up his wife's decision. "You too, Sammy."

Sammy scowled, but he stomped up the stairs. As soon as the talk moved away from the entry hall and into the kitchen, he grabbed his brother's sleeve and whispered, "Take your shoes off. Let's eavesdrop."

"But Mom and Dad said—"

"Shh! Come on!"

Sammy slid his shoes off his feet and lightly tiptoed downstairs, straining his ears to hear the conversation.

"Girls, your names," their mother was saying.

"What about them?" Grayfeather asked sharply.

"I'll get you guys some food," Sammy heard their dad say.

"They're not normal human names," Annie continued, her voice trouble. "They sound like..."

"We're not from here," Poolgaze piped up. Sammy imagined, though he couldn't see, that Finchwing, the hot redhead, was glaring at their mom with those deep brown eyes.

"They sound like warrior names," Annie said quietly.

Except for the sounds of Dad preparing a meal, there was silence in the kitchen. Then Finchwing spoke up.

"How do you know about that?" she asked sharply.

"We were warriors once, too," Ryan said simply.

Sammy glanced at Kyle in confusion. Warriors? What were they talking about? Had their mom and dad secretly been in some war or battle and not told anyone? Were these weird names like code names or something?

"You were?" Poolgaze asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.

The microwave beeped, and the delicious smell of corndogs wafted through the air. "Here you girls go," Ryan said cheerfully. "It's not mice, but it'll do. Twoleg food is actually pretty good. Most of it."

"How did you guys become Twolegs, then, if you were cats?" Grayfeather asked suspiciously.

"How did _you_ two become Twolegs?" Annie retorted.

"Dovewing the Wise summoned us to the Moonpool," Finchwing explained. "She promised us an adventure, then we drank from the pool and...we weren't cats anymore. We were Twolegs."

"Humans," Ryan corrected. "That's what we call ourselves."

There was a tapping noise, then the sound of someone hesitantly biting into a corndog. "This is good!" Poolgaze exclaimed through a mouthful of meat and fried bread.

The girls began to eat, and Annie explained things. Sammy was flabbergasted to hear all this. It was crazy! Warriors? Shapeshifting? The girls were actually _cats_—and so were their _parents_?

"I was born a human," Mom began. "When I was twelve, my entire class...young Twolegs learning together...we went to the Moonpool. We messed with the water, and somehow we were turned into cats. It's a very long story."

"We've got time," Finchwing said. "I want to hear this."

"Fine," Annie said with a sigh. "I went to ThunderClan and befriended them. I lived there for a very long time. I even became their leader—maybe you know me. My warrior name was Gingerstar."

"What?" Poolgaze said in surprise. "But Amberstar said she was the one who told us to go to the Moonpool!"

Annie frowned. "I did deliver a message to her," she said thoughtfully, "just the other night." Her tone darkened. "So _this_ is what Star and Moon meant...not their fault, huh? We'll see about that..."

"Go on," Grayfeather prompted.

"I'm Lionblaze, by the way," Ryan interrupted.

Sammy was finding this hard to take. Were their parents and these girls just pulling an elaborate prank on them? If so, it was working. Kyle gazed at him with wide, scared eyes.

"Do you think they're telling the truth?" he whispered.

Sammy shrugged. "It seems impossible, but..."

"This is just like an episode of Blue Moon," his younger brother muttered under his breath. Sammy had to resist the urge to laugh at the little nerd.

"Well, you should know the story of Lionblaze and Gingerstar," Annie said. "We made it back here...somehow...we turned into cats twice after that, but that's not pertinent to this story. We're happy now, living as Annie and Ryan Crimsen, with four children and a normal life. We were promised we wouldn't be bothered again." There was an edge to her words, a tone Sammy had never heard before in her voice.

"We didn't choose for this to happen," Grayfeather told her. "It just...happened."

"Well, actually—" Poolgaze piped up.

"No," Annie said. Sammy imagined she was shaking her head. "This isn't your fault, I understand. I'm not mad. You girls can stay...until you turn back. You do want to turn back, don't you?"

"Absolutely," Grayfeather said, as her sister Finchwing said at the same time, "As soon as our adventure is over."

Sammy could hear the uncomfortable silence between the two sisters, broken by Poolgaze. "I'd be happy to go back, but we were promised an adventure."

"Explain," Ryan prompted.

"Dovewing told us we'd have an adventure," Finchwing said. "This kind of is, but I was under the impression that there would be action and stuff."

"Honey, you don't know adventures," Annie said gently. "You don't want a real one. I'd say this is adventure enough for you."

"We'll help you find a way back," Ryan promised.

"Thanks," Grayfeather said.

"But now, you'd best go to sleep," Annie said briskly, pushing back her chair and getting to her feet. "I'll help you get situated."

Sammy glanced at Kyle, wide-eyed. "We've gotta go!" he hissed. "Before they see!"

"And boys," Mom called out, raising her voice. "I knew you were there the whole time. Clean up Kyle's room and come see me. Now."

"So they know now?" Finchwing asked.

"I'll talk to them," Annie said firmly.

Blushing with embarrassment—how had they been caught? They had been so careful!—Sammy ran upstairs behind Kyle. They hurriedly cleaned up the younger boy's room, taking his things to Sammy's room. Sammy peeked into Holly and Mason's room, to find them both fast asleep. He smiled, then closed the door and walked with Kyle back downstairs.

Mom was busy getting the girls comfortable in Kyle's room, so the two brothers waited awkwardly in the kitchen while their dad cleaned up the girls' dinner.

"Boys, what did your mother tell you?" Ryan asked with a chuckle.

"Dad, we were _curious_!" Kyle protested.

"Besides, _we_ were the ones who brought them home!" Sammy added.

"Your mother told you to go to bed," Ryan said firmly. "I don't think you'll be in _too_ much trouble, but you overheard some pretty serious stuff."

"Is...is it true?" Kyle asked hesitantly. "About the warrior cat stuff?"

Ryan nodded soberly. "It is. You're probably thinking we're crazy, but it's still true. Your mother recorded our adventures, after they had all happened. The first one isn't too good, but her writing skills improved over time. You should read them, to find out the whole story."

Annie walked back down the stairs. Ryan leaned down slightly to kiss her, then murmured a goodbye to his wife and eldest sons, going upstairs. Now Sammy and Kyle were all alone with their scowling mother.

"What did I tell you boys?" she demanded crossly. "There was a _reason_ I didn't want you overhearing that!"

"Did you think we'd think you're crazy?" Sammy retorted. "Because you kind of are, Mom!"

Their mother's eyes flashed dangerously. "You don't know what I've been through to keep myself and this family happy, Sammy! The least you can do is listen to me! And I _know_ what crazy feels like! This isn't it."

Sammy was taken aback by the hurt in her voice. "O-okay," he stammered. "I'm sorry, Mom. You're right, we should have listened to you..."

Annie's blue gaze, so much like Sammy's own, softened. "It's okay, hun," she sighed, sitting down next to her sons. "I overreact sometimes...a lot of the time...but these are kind of painful memories, in a way." She looked down. "There were more, before I had you four. We had children, when we were cats. We had to leave them behind. I was afraid that if you found out...if you got involved...I would lose you too, in one way or another."

Kyle's eyes widened, and he stammered out, "We wouldn't leave you, Mom!"

"It's not so much you leaving me that I was afraid of," she said sadly. "It's the other things. The other people." She shook her, then looked back up. "You can't tell anyone. Not even Mason or Holly. They can't know our secret. Those three girls...I don't know why Dovewing sent them here, but we've got to keep them safe and send them back as soon as they can." She hesitated. "Kyle, Sammy...since you two know, will you help? It'll be hard. I'm asking you, not ordering you."

Sammy and Kyle exchanged a brief glance before nodding. "Yeah," Sammy said.

"We'll help," Kyle agreed.

Annie smiled. "Thanks, boys." She glanced at the clock. "It's almost midnight! What are you two doing awake still? Go to bed!"

Groaning, Sammy and Kyle got to their feet and trudged up the stairs and into Sammy's room. They quickly changed into pajamas and crawled into bed; or, in Kyle's case, a sleeping bag on the floor.

Annie said goodnight, then left, shutting the door behind her. The two brothers laid still and silent for awhile. Then Sammy broke the silence. "You know, you're right. This _is_ something straight of Blue Moon."

"Except Jessica, Bridget, and Jeremy aren't here," Kyle joked.

Sammy snorted in laughter. "They might show up. Nerd."

Kyle sighed in exasperation and rolled over. "Get some sleep, Sammy."

"You know it's true, bro!" he exclaimed with a grin. He sighed, confused but happy. "Man, Finchwing is smoking hot."

"Sleep, not girls, Sammy!" Kyle exclaimed.

He grinned. "Good night, Kyle."

"Good night, Sammy."

* * *

_\- Read and **review**__!_


	7. Chapter 7

Guys, I'm not really feeling this fic any more...I'm mostly writing it out of a sense of duty. I'm probably going to be leaving the Warriors fandom soon, and if I really just can't get back the motivation on this fic I might drop it altogether. Some words of encouragement would be nice...I'm not really getting many reviews. :/

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Poolgaze slept uneasily that night. The strange, flat floors and uncomfortable nest called a "sleeping bag" were not helpful to inducing drowsiness, and though she usually slept deeply, her surroundings made her feel uneasy.

She finally drifted off to sleep well past her tiredness, and when she did, strange dreams awaited her.

Poolgaze dreamed she was a cat again, standing in the ThunderClan camp, though no one seemed to notice her presence. She watched as Amberstar nosed her way into camp, a detached look of fright in her pale eyes.

Several cats walked up to her and greeted her. She nodded to each one, seeming rather distracted.

Thorntail padded up Amberstar, a frown on his face. "Didn't Finchwing go with you? And Poolgaze and Grayfeather?"

"Yes," she admitted, swishing her tail uneasily.

"Well, where are they?" the black tom demanded.

Amberstar couldn't meet his eyes. "They...I..." She took a deep breath. "They're gone. I don't know where they went."

"What?" someone called out in dismay. "Gone?"

There was a clamor of distressed voices, but Amberstar steeled herself and stood up taller, shouting out, "ThunderClan! ThunderClan! Calm down! Quiet!"

At last, the yelling died down, and Amberstar could speak her piece.

"The three she-cats vanished while I was sharing tongues with StarClan," she announced. "I am very worried about them. Our warrior ancestors did not share any words of wisdom on this subject, and Dovewing was not present when I woke. I looked for a very long time, but I was unable to track their scent anywhere." She took a deep breath. "I wish to organize a search party to look for our missing Clanmates. Who will go with me?"

"I will!" Thorntail exclaimed.

"I will!" an older she-cat, Icefur, called out.

"I will!" Greenheart, the mother of Finchwing and Grayfeather, volunteered.

Two more cats, a young tom called Redsplash and an apprentice named Owlpaw, also volunteered their services. Amberstar soon left with them, leaving her deputy, Icefang, in charge in her absence.

Poolgaze watched sadly as they left. She tried to call out to them, to reassure them, but no one seemed to hear her cries of, "I'm here! Don't worry!" Of course. It was only a dream, after all.

She slumped down in defeat, unsure if this was real or not.

"It is real," a smooth, mysterious male voice said.

"What?" she exclaimed, jumping to her paws.

"This dream is real," an equally mysterious female voice added.

Poolgaze blinked in confusion. "Oh—okay. And..." She paused. "It's just a dream, then? I'll go back to being a Twoleg later?"

"Yes, sweet child," the female voice said comfortingly.

"But I want to go home," she whispered, looking at the ground.

"You will go home, eventually," the male voice said. "But for now you must watch."

The dream changed. Now Poolgaze was standing in front of her mother, Embertail, and her mother's friend Snakeclaw.

"I can't believe she's gone," Embertail said heavily.

"Why didn't you go on the search party?" Snakeclaw asked. "I thought for sure you would."

Embertail shook her head. "I'm too old." She sighed. "I'm thinking of retiring soon. Poolgaze was the only kit I had in my last litter, and I've lived a long life of motherhood and war. I can only hunt now, and my reflexes are slow even then. I'd only drag them down."

It hurt Poolgaze to see her mother like this, so sad and dejected, but she knew Embertail couldn't hear her comforting words.

"Isn't there some way I can help?" she demanded, looking up at the sky, where the disembodied voices seemed to be coming from. "Something to reassure her?"

"Not her," the female voice said. "But perhaps your leader, Amberstar."

"Can you take me to her?" Poolgaze asked hopefully. "Even if it's only in a dream."

"Yes," the male voice said agreeably. "We will go there now."

The dream changed again, and Poolgaze found herself sitting in front of the sleeping body of Amberstar, lying all alone in an unfamiliar forest.

"Where are we?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet so she wouldn't wake her slumbering leader.

"We are in the dream forest of Amberstar," the male voice explained. "Hush! She stirs, she dreams."

Amberstar lifted her head, her piercing grey eyes looking up into Poolgaze's pure blue stare. "Poolgaze?" she gasped, her face lighting up in a smile. "You're alright!"

"I..." She didn't know what to say, she wasn't ready! She shook her head. "No, I'm not alright the way you want it."

"What do you mean?" Amberstar asked.

"This is just a dream, Amberstar," Poolgaze explained. "Something...happened at the Moonpool."

"Don't tell her about the humans," the female voice whispered in her ear.

"I can't go back to ThunderClan, not yet," Poolgaze said instead. "None of us can. Don't...don't search for us. Guard the Clan. Please, Amberstar?"

"But where have you gone?" Amberstar demanded. "Why can't you come back?"

"I...I can't tell you!" Poolgaze explained, swishing her tail in distress. "I can't tell you. I'm sorry. But we will come back! I promise."

Amberstar began to fade. "I'll call off the search party, then," she said, her voice growing quieter as she vanished away. "I'll tell them StarClan told me to..."

"Yes," Poolgaze agreed, calling out louder. "And tell my mother not to worry!"

"I will, Poolgaze!" Amberstar called out. Poolgaze thought she heard the amber-furred leader repeat the words "I will" one more time before she disappeared, but she wasn't sure.

"Now what?" she asked in a small voice. "Do I go back? Back the Twoleg nest, with Gingerstar and Lionblaze as humans?"

"Yes," the male voice agreed.

"Just a minute," the female voice interrupted him. "There's something else."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"Tell the other two, and Annie if you think she might benefit, that it's no use finding a way back yet," the female voice said. "We'll get you back when it's time." There was a sigh. "I wish there was some other way—we did promise Annie we'd leave her alone—but this threat is too great to be ignored."

"Tell Annie and Ryan to watch the younger children," the male voice said warningly.

"Is that all?" Poolgaze asked. She wanted sleep—real sleep, not dream sleep.

"That is all, for tonight," the female voice said. "Sleep well, Poolgaze..."

"Thanks," she said, yawning even in her dream. Then the dream and the voices faded, and she was left all alone in peace.


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for all the kind reviews last chapter. I've decided I will definitely finish this fic, but that it'll probably be my last story for the Warriors fandom.

Wow - I wonder if we can get to 50 reviews this chapter! Probably not, but one can hope.

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

* * *

When Mason woke up and ran downstairs for breakfast, he accidentally bumped into...a _girl_?

He stumbled backward, his eyes wide. The girl turned around to look at him, her clear blue eyes wide and confused. She had black hair and very pale skin, and Mason thought she was beautiful.

"Who are you?" she asked, taking a step back. She looked to be a little older than he was, maybe fourteen to his thirteen.

"I—I'm Mason," he stammered. "I live here. Wh-who are you?"

"I'm Poolgaze," she answered, looking at him with interest.

"Why are you here?" he asked. He cursed himself for asking that. She might think she wasn't welcome!

"Kyle and Sammy found us last night and brought us here," Poolgaze explained. "We slept the night."

Poolgaze, Mason thought. What an odd, yet beautiful name. And—had she said "us"? Did that mean there were more girls in his house?

"There are more of you?" he blurted out.

"Finchwing and Grayfeather are in there," she said, pointing toward the kitchen.

"Oh...I was going there," Mason said awkwardly. He stepped past her, glancing back toward her. "Are you coming?"

"I...sure" she said, blinking those clear blue eyes. She followed him to the kitchen.

To Mason's astonishment, two pretty teenage girls sat in the kitchen, watching his dad fix breakfast. His mom sat beside them. The three of the spoke in low tones.

One of the strange girls had reddish hair, and the other had brown hair, but otherwise they looked similar enough to be siblings.

"Um, hi, Mom," Mason said, staring at the girls in confusion. "Hi, Dad."

His parents greeted him with smiles and waves. Mom beckoned Poolgaze over, and she obediently sat down next to the other strangers.

"Hi, Mason," Dad said cheerfully. He flipped a pancake over. "Grab some food, then head into the other room. Your brothers and sister are there, they'll fill you in."

"Okay, Dad," he agreed, still very confused. He loaded his plate up with pancakes, drenched them in syrup, then, with a final glance toward Poolgaze and the sisters, he walked into the living room.

A table had hastily been set up, and Mason's siblings sat there, already half-done with breakfast.

"Hi, guys!" he greeted them, plopping down next to Holly. "So...why do we have girls in our house?"

Kyle swallowed, then answered, "They need a place to stay. Mom and Dad agreed to keep them here for a while."

Mason's heart leapt. So Poolgaze was _living_ here now? Sweet!

He didn't say that, though. "Why do they have all weird names?"

"I don't know," Sammy said, not meeting his brother's eyes. Mason frowned suspiciously. He was missing something here. Sammy wasn't telling the truth.

Holly squealed and stabbed her pancakes. "Die, pancakes! Die!" she shouted.

"What did those poor pancakes ever do to you?" Kyle asked in amusement.

"They're mean! And gross!" Holly exclaimed.

"You don't like pancakes?" Sammy exclaimed in mock horror. "That's treason!"

"Actually, treason is when—" Kyle began.

"Shut up, nerd, we don't need your smartass comments!"

"_Sammy_!"

Mason tuned them out, picking at his food, lost in thought. "I'm gonna go get some milk," he mumbled. He got up and went to the kitchen.

As soon as he entered the room, the conversation between the girls and his parents stopped. They all turned to look at him.

"Hi," Mason said uncomfortably. "Just...getting some milk!"

He hurriedly ran his errand, then left. The conversation started back up, but he didn't go back to his siblings. Instead, he waited just beyond the doorway and eavesdropped.

"...about that dream," his mom was saying firmly.

"Oh, okay," Poolgaze murmured. Mason strained his ears trying to listen to what the beautiful girl was trying to say.

"So, I was in the ThunderClan camp," she began, and suddenly Mason was confused as she plunged into a world of magic cats and dead people and anxious mothers. He was soon lost, but he remembered every word he heard. He had a feeling that this was important.

"And that was all?" Dad asked when Poolgaze was done. "That was your whole dream?"

"That's it," she confirmed.

There was a moment of silence. "I hope our parents are all right," one of the other girls—Mason didn't know which—sighed.

"Me too," the third girl agreed.

"Tell me more about those voices," Mom ordered.

"They were rich and smooth," Poolgaze described, "and they seemed to come from all around me. There were only two, that's for certain."

"Star and Moon," Mom growled. Mason was taken aback. He'd never heard her sound so angry. "They said that they would leave me alone! They _promised_!"

"Who?" the second girl asked sharply.

"The first cats," Dad explained. "Their names are Star and Moon. We've met."

"It didn't end well," Annie muttered. "They promised to leave us be, years and years ago, but apparently they didn't mean it, after all."

"I'm sorry we had to get you involved in this," Poolgaze sighed.

"No, you came to the right place," Ryan said quickly. "We're the only ones who would believe you, after all."

"This doesn't sound good," Annie sighed.

"Hey, at least we're getting an adventure!" the third girl said brightly.

At this point, Mason slipped away, his head spinning. What was going on?

Maybe Sammy and Kyle knew. He walked back to the table. They seemed to be hiding something from him.

Holly had left, watching TV in another room. Mason sipped his milk, then asked his brothers quietly, "What do you guys know about magic cats?"

They froze, then turned to look at him. "I—what do you mean?" Kyle stammered guiltily.

"Are they...really magic cats?" Mason asked hesitantly, jerking his head toward the kitchen. "Those girls?"

"Mom and Dad say so," Sammy said, though he sounded unconvinced.

"How did you figure that out?" Kyle asked.

"I eavesdropped," he admitted. "Poolgaze, the pretty one, mentioned a dream she had—"

"Pretty one?" Sammy interrupted, amused.

"Dream?" Kyle asked at the same time, intrigued.

Mason explained what he had heard. When he was done, Sammy leaned back and whistled.

"That's pretty weird," he observed.

"All of this is," Mason agreed.

Kyle sighed. "I guess Mom and Dad should know that you know."

"But—" he protested.

"If you want to find out more, they need to know, Mason," Sammy agreed.

"Fine," he sighed. He paused. "Do you have to tell them I eavesdropped? I don't want to get in trouble."

"Well, that's how _we_ found out," Kyle chuckled. "I don't think they'll be too mad."

"Oh, okay, then," Mason agreed.

"Pretty weird stuff going on, huh, bro?" Sammy said, shaking his head.

"Yeah," Mason said; and for once, he meant it.

* * *

_Wow people are developing crushes all over the place, I wonder how that will work out..._

_Review, please?_


	9. Chapter 9

Oh my gosh, thank you all so much for all the reviews last chapter! I love every single one of you! 3

I have an announcement to make: I'm taking next month off of fanfiction to focus on my novel, and I don't know if I'll be able to update next week before April starts or not. However, throughout April I will be posting a seven-chapter Hobbit story about Thranduil the Elvenking which is already prewritten. If you're interested in that, stay tuned! If not, I'll be (semi)regularly updating this story again in May. Thank you!

Things are going to get a little dark soon, so be warned...

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE**

* * *

"Cameron, get down here!"

Cameron gritted his teeth and rolled his eyes. "I'm coming, Mom!"

He got up off his bed and stomped downstairs, then all the way down to the basement of their ramshackle home. He considered running back to grab a jacket or a coat or something—it was always cold down here, even in the summertime—but one glance at his mother's frosty expression forced him to stay.

Silena Green was beautiful, but cold. Her long, white-gold hair was flawlessly handled, and her bright blue eyes further enhanced her physical radiance. But after living with her for sixteen years, Cameron knew all too well how false that beauty was.

Silena was cruel and cold-hearted, mean to everyone she met and with no qualms for things generally considered evil. She and Cameron's father, Daniel Green, were only together for mutual benefit. They were essential figures in the black market of this the "bad side of town", often using their home as a refuge for murderers, thieves and gangs, and acting as middlemen for all kinds of drugs and illegal substances.

Dan Green was as ugly as his wife was not. He was short, pudgy, and sour-faced, looking far more like the ill character he was than did his wife. He was rough and harsh with his son in a more physical way, where Silena preferred verbal assaults.

This was the rocky environment Cameron had grown up in. He was confused, most of the time, and not sure what was right and what was wrong. One thing he had learned long ago, however, was that he always, _always_ needed to listen when his parents called him down to the basement.

Dan was crouched in front of the circle, staring at it intensely. Silena sneered as Cameron walked in, waving her arm to the other side of the chalk circle.

"You know what to do, boy," she said sharply.

"Yes, Mom," he said meekly, crouching down across from his father.

"Don't call me that," she snapped.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Silena cursed under her breath, then cracked her knuckles. "Light the fire," she ordered.

Dan pulled a lighter out of his pocket, then lowered the flame to the candle. Cameron frowned. Calling that tiny thing a fire was a bit of a stretch.

"We have news, Master," Silena intoned solemnly, closing her eyes. "Do you hear us?"

There was a hiss. "I hear you, Silver. Is Pigface there?"

"I am here, Master," Dan growled.

"And the boy, is he there?"

"Y-yes, Master," Cameron stammered. He hated it when the voice in the candle flame came. He hated this thing with spirits and ghosts, and serving what he assumed was some form of the Devil, though he wasn't exactly sure who—or what—this "Master" was.

"Good," the voice hissed. "What news is there, Silver?"

Cameron also didn't know why the voice had other names for his parents, or why his parents so willingly responded to them. "Pigface" wasn't exactly flattering, after all.

"Master, our watchers on the Crimsen house confirm that the she-cats have arrived in the form of three human girls," Silena said respectfully. "You are right, though I do not know how..."

"I know all," the voice growled. "You were wrong to doubt me, Silver."

"Master, I am sorry—"

"Tell me about the girls," he said softly.

"They are fair, and young," Daniel began, "and they are confused. Our spies said they went into the house at night, with the two oldest boys."

"When was this?" the voice asked.

"Last night, Master," Silena informed it.

There was silence in the dark room. Cameron shivered, wishing he had brought a jacket.

"Master, what would you have us do?" Dan asked.

"Go to the house, tonight," the voice ordered. "Take the girls, if you can. If you cannot, take the youngest two Crimsen children instead, and hold them hostage."

"Yes, Master," Silena agreed.

"I must have the girls in my possession," the voice said warningly. "If you fail me, Silver, I will send you back to the Dark Forest, where you went _last_ time you failed me, when you let Shadow kill you."

Cameron stared at his mother in shock and confusion. Someone named Shadow had...killed her? But then how was she still alive? He longed to ask her, but he knew he would only get beaten and mocked if he did. He kept quiet.

"I will not fail you, Master," Silena said with a tremor in her voice.

"Nor will I," Dan hastily added.

"Pigface, you also could return there if you fail," the voice hissed. "And as for the boy..."

"What about him?" Silena asked nervously.

"Let him help you this time," the voice ordered. "He will need practice if he wants to enter into my service and play his part later."

"But Master—" Dan protested.

"I said, let him help!" the voice bellowed. The three humans flinched away from the circle. The voice growled, then said in a calmer tone, "Will he be ready when the time comes?"

"He will," Silena promised.

Cameron's flesh crawled. He didn't like the sound of that, not at all. He said nothing, however.

"If you are to raise me and prevent my doom, you must _not_ fail in this task," the voice growled. "If the Peacekeeper is born, all will fail. And you will return."

"We will not fail you, Master," Dan pledged. "And neither will the boy. I will see that he does his part."

"Good." The voice sighed. "Time runs short. Do not summon me again until you have the girls."

"Yes, Master," Silena murmured.

The flame flickered and died. Cameron shivered. It was so cold in the basement.

Silena flipped on the light. "We must move quickly," she said to her husband. "Call up the Little Teeth. They owe us a favor."

"What about Cameron?" Dan asked.

"I'm right here, you know," he muttered under his breath.

"What was that, boy?" Silena asked sharply.

"Nothing," he said innocently.

"When the gang comes, you and him go with them to kidnap the girls," Silena ordered. "Be careful. If the Master finds out we failed him..."

"I'll be fine," Dan assured her. He pulled a phone out of his pocket—stolen, Cameron assumed. He made the call, then walked out of the basement, saying, "Hey, Jackie? You and the boys owe me a favor..."

Cameron walked after his dad, a sinking dread in his stomach. Whatever this was, he had a feeling it wasn't going to end well.


	10. Chapter 10

Look at this, I actually managed an update! I hope you like it.

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN**

* * *

Kyle stood up from the table, nodding to his brothers. "We should go tell mom and Dad now," he said.

Sammy rolled his eyes, but got to his feet. Kyle smirked a little—he took after their mother, but Kyle himself resembled their taller father. Even though he was two years younger than Sammy, he was almost the same height as his brother. Soon he would pass him.

Mason was still young and short. He trailed after his older brothers, nervous to reveal his knowledge of the visitors to their parents.

Kyle walked right in on the conversation, interrupting them. The brown-haired one, Grayfeather, glared at him. Finchwing frowned, her gaze wandering between the three of them, while Poolgaze shyly ducked her head, turning to stare at Mason. Their parents frowned.

"Boys, what are you doing here?" their father asked.

"Mason has a confession to make," Sammy announced, pushing the young boy forward.

Everyone's eyes toward him. Mason looked down at his feet and stammered, "Mom, D-dad, I...overheard your conversation. About Poolgaze's dream."

"We filled him in," Kyle added helpfully, not wanting Mason to face their parents' wrath alone.

Annie sighed and rolled her eyes, throwing her hadns up in the air. "Who next? Does Holly know? The president?"

"No, Mom, it's just Mason," Sammy said comfortingly. "I promise we won't tell anyone else."

"You're right, you won't," their mother said with a scowl. "None of you three are leaving this house until we get this mess sorted out!"

"But Mom—" Sammy protested indignantly, and Kyle's mouth fell open in outrage.

"No _buts_!" Annie snapped. "Too many people know about this already!"

"Dear—" Ryan began placatingly, but Annie's cell phone suddenly rang.

She scowled at everyone in the room, abruptly getting up and walking into the corner of the kitchen, pulling her phone out of her pocket and answering.

"Hello?...oh, hi, Sam!"

Sam? Sam! Kyle knew Sam. She was his mother's friend from childhood, who came over for dinner sometimes. She was great fun, telling funny stories from when she and Annie were kids and giving hints about her latest books (she was a writer).

"Hm...that does sound nice...sure, when were you thinking?...oh, tonight! Tonight...hmm...I don't know. We had dinner plans with Gennie's family, we had to cancel due to—ah—unexpected company, but...I, well...I suppose if it's just you...yes, sure...that's great! We'll see you tonight. Yes. I'll say hi to them for you. Alright, bye!"

Annie hung up and put her phone back into her pocket, distracted and noticeably less cross. "Sam says hi," she announced. "She's coming to dinner tonight."

"Who?" Finchwing asked, one eyebrow raised.

"A stranger?" Grayfeather said apprehensively.

"An old friend," Ryan corrected. "You might remember her as Wolfstar of ShadowClan."

"Uh...no," Finchwing said, shaking her head. Grayfeather frowned and added, "Never heard of her."

"Oh—her!" Poolgaze exclaimed. "She led ShadowClan during the Dark Forest War! But—didn't she kill you?"

Annie laughed. "That's water under the bridge. It was a very long time ago."

Kyle blinked, shocked. _Killed_ her? And Mom was _laughing_ about it? But—Sam was great! She was awesome! She and Mom were friends!

"So you'll let her know about us?" Finchwing asked. "Like, where we came from and all?"

Annie shook her head. "No, I don't think so. I don't want her getting mixed up in this, too. But..." She hesitated. "We will have to introduce you to her."

"Couldn't you have said no?" Ryan asked quietly. "I mean, you already cancelled dinner with Gennie—"

"And her whole family," Annie reminded him. "Sam's coming by herself. Besides, I rescheduled with Gennie for two weeks from now, the girls should be back home by then. We can hide this from one person, just not four."

"All right, fine," Ryan agreed. He turned to the girls. "We need a cover-up story for you girls."

"Couldn't they just hide upstairs?" Kyle suggested. "Sam wouldn't have to know."

"No, she knows we have guests," Mom said, shaking her head.

"We can tell her that they're kids of one of Dad's work friends," Sammy mused.

The girls exchanged a glance. Poolgaze shrugged. "You guys would know better than we would. You live in this world, after all."

Dad nodded. "I like that. Let's go from there."

"They'll need new names," Kyle added. "If Sam really went with you guys, she'll recognize the style."

"But I like my name," Grayfeather protested.

"No, he's right," Annie agreed.

"We can try to keep them close to your names," Mason said with a smile.

"Well, we named most of you at least partially after a cat," Dad said, smirking. "We can manage this."

"What?" Sammy exclaimed indignantly. "But—"

"Let's get into that later," Finchwing interrupted. "When is your friend coming, Annie?"

"Oh, it'll be a while yet," she answered. "Dinner's not 'til the evening. But we'd better get this figured out as soon as possible."

"So, how can we turn 'Poolgaze' into a human name?" Mason began.

"Something with a _puh_ sound, at least," Kyle said thoughtfully. "Um...Patricia?"

"Ew," Annie said, wrinkling her nose. "Sounds like something from the eighties."

"Pam?" Ryan suggested. "I always liked that name."

"How about Polly?" Sammy said.

Kyle nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good, and it's pretty close to Pool, too."

They all turned to the girl in question. She nodded. "Polly sounds good to me."

"Polly it is, then!" Ryan agreed.

"And for Grayfeather..." Sammy tapped the table thoughtfully. "Gosh, I can't think of anything."

"How about Gail?" Annie suggested. "I always liked that name, we even considered it for Holly." Her eyes widened. "Boys, where's Holly?"

"Watching TV upstairs," Mason answered. "She should still be there."

"I'm going to go check on her," Annie said, getting to her feet. "You guys keep talking."

"I like Gail," Grayfeather agreed. "Gail. Yes, that's nice."

"I want something long for mine," Finchwing said. "I always wished my name was longer."

"Hmm..." Kyle mused. "I can't think of any _F_ names."

"I knew a girl named Francesca when I was in college," Ryan said. "I think she was Italian."

"That's stupid," Sammy scoffed.

"I like it," Finchwing said archly, glaring at him. "I am Francesca now."

"Alright, fine," Sammy grumbled.

Annie came back down. "Holly's fine," she informed them. "So did you decide on anything?"

"We have a Polly, a Gail, and a Francesca," Mason said, pointing to each girl in turn.

"They need a last name," Kyle said.

"How about Warner?" Ryan asked. "I actually know a Warner with three girls at work, you can pretend you're them."

"Fine," Gail agreed. "Gailwarner." She said it all like one word. Kyle cracked a smile.

"Right!" Annie said, getting up. "You boys run off and play. Girls, stay here. We need to talk. And no more eavesdropping!" she called out to her sons.

Kyle rolled his eyes as he left the room. "Fine, Mom!"

* * *

That evening, the doorbell rang. Kyle quickly turned off his phone and ran downstairs to meet their guest, who could only be his mom's friend, Sam.

Annie had already opened the door, and Sam, with her hair cut short, laughed at the sight of him.

"Hey, Kyle!" she exclaimed. "Where are your siblings, huh?"

"Over there somewhere," he replied, gesturing vaguely behind him.

"Come in," Annie invited, stepping away from the door. Sam slid her shoes off and walked in.

"So who's your company?" Sam asked, looking around in interest.

"They're in the living room," Annie said, leading her old friend toward the room where the girls were talking quietly on the couch.

"Sam, this is Francesca, Gail, and Polly Warner," Kyle's mom said in introduction, pointing to each girl in turn. "Their parents had a family emergency late last night, so they dropped the girls off here. Their mother is one of Ryan's colleagues."

Sam nodded in greeting. "Hi," she said.

"Girls, this is my good friend, Samantha Xavier," Annie continued.

They murmured hello, none of them quite meeting her eyes.

"You might know me better as S. Xavier," Sam said conversationally, sitting down on the couch beside the girls. Kyle flopped down on the floor next to his mom.

"I write books, have you heard of me?" Sam continued.

Francesca shook her head. "No, sorry."

Sam grunted, apparently not very impressed.

A buzzer beeped in the kitchen, and Mom stood up. "I'd better get that," she said apologetically. "You guys have fun."

As she left, Sammy walked into the room. "Hey, namesake," he greeted the newcomer. "How's it going?"

Sam laughed and got up to hug him. "Seventeen years and I still can't believe your parents named their first born child after me! I'm fine, Sammy; how are you?"

"Cool," he responded, sitting down beside Kyle. "Hey, bro." He turned to the girls and winked at Francesca. "Hey girls."

The redhead sighed and rolled her eyes, though Kyle thought she was smiling a little. Kyle blinked. Was there a romance brewing between them? No, he must be imagining things. That was stupid.

A squeal from behind alerted the group to Holly's approach. "Auntie Sam! Auntie Sam! Hi!"

Sam laughed and turned just in time to be bowled over by a four-year-old bundle of excitement.

The group talked for a while, the girls staying mostly silent and uncomfortable, until Annie called them all in for dinner. Kyle lingered at the back of the group and brushed shoulders with Gail.

"Is...she always like this?" she whispered to him. "So...loud?"

Kyle laughed. "Yeah, she's great," he admitted. "A fantastic writer, too, you should read some of her books."

Gail looked uncomfortable. "I...can't read. I'm a cat, remember?"

"Oh. Yeah." Kyle fell silent.

They all settled down at the dinner table and dug into a delicious casserole. Sam began to talk about her writing.

"I actually just signed with a TV show," she announced. "Just one episode, and I'm co-writing—it should be pretty sweet."

"What TV show?" Kyle asked in interest.

"It's called Blue Moon," she answered.

Kyle dropped his fork in surprise. "No way!" he exclaimed. "That's my favorite show!"

Sam laughed. "I thought you might like it."

"Can you give me any spoilers?" he begged. "Please?"

"No way, you'll have to find out the same time as everyone else," Sam said.

"Can you make Bridgemy canon?"

"I'll see what I can do, but no promises," she laughed.

Mason and Holly finished early and Annie let them go play outside. The older kids and adults talked for a while, until the girls excused themselves to their rooms. Kyle felt himself grow drowsy—he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

He excused himself to the bathroom, then decided to go check on his younger siblings in the front yard. Confused, he noticed they were nowhere to be seen.

"Holly?" he called out, circling around to the backyard. "Mason?" Still nothing.

The sound of a rock being thrown at the house caught his attention. He turned and ran back around to the front yard. A large rock with a piece of paper tied to it lay in the garden bed. He picked it up, his heart pounding, and tore the note off the rock.

_TO THE INHABITANTS OF THIS HOUSE_, it read in big, bold letters.

_HAND THE GIRLS OVER TO US NOW. WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE. WE KNOW WHO __YOU_ _ARE &amp; **WHAT **YOU ARE. GIVE THEM TO US, IN THE SMALL LOT BEHIND THE SUPERMARKET IN THE SHADY SIDE OF TOWN. YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS._

_GIVE US THE GIRLS OR YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LITTLE ONES AGAIN._

Kyle sobbed and turned to run back into the house. "Mom!" he shouted. "Dad!" They had to be told—and the kids had to be saved. He would do anything to keep them safe. Anything at all.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm back on schedule now! I would have had a chapter up last week but I was sick and couldn't focus. I'm going to be focusing on this fic more until it's finished, so I'll try for weekly updates. Here's chapter eleven, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

* * *

Francesca looked up from where she was curled up, half-asleep in the Crimsen family's living room as their second son, Kyle, ran through the house. She scowled, looking up at him. What was he doing, making such a racket? She was trying to _sleep_!

"Mom!" he cried out, a sob in his voice. "Dad!"

Concerned at the stress in his tone, Francesca exchanged a glance with Gail and Polly. They got up and followed him into the kitchen where Sammy, Annie, Ryan, and their friend Sam Xavier were still talking.

"What's wrong, honey?" Annie asked her son in concern.

"Read this," Kyle sobbed, wiping away tears from his eyes. He shoved a note into her hands.

She took it, frowning. She mouthed the words as she read them, though Francesca couldn't tell what she was saying. Soon the blood drained from Annie's face, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.

"What is it, Annie?" Sam Xavier asked. Annie wordlessly handed the note to her, burying her hands in her face.

"_To the inhabitants of this house_," Sam read aloud, "_hand the girls over to us now. We know who they are. We know who you are and what you are. Give them to us, in the small lot behind the supermarket in the shady side of town. You know where it is._" She paused, then continued, "_Give us the girls or you will never see the little ones again_."

Everyone stared at each other with wide eyes. Francesca's heart beat faster, and she clenched her fists.

"What are we going to do, Mom?" Kyle asked in a pained and pleading voice.

"Well, you can't turn us in," Francesca said harshly, glaring at the natural humans warily.

"Well, if that's what they want—" Sammy said hotly, glaring at her.

"Stop, Sammy!" Ryan growled. "We're not turning the girls in!" He narrowed his eyes. "And going to the lot would be walking into a trap."

"I'm...really confused," Sam Xavier said, her brown eyes narrowed. She clutched the table, her knuckles white. "Who took the kids? And who really are these girls?"

"We're from ThunderClan," Gail admitted. She didn't meet Sam's eyes.

"Wait...how?" the author exclaimed.

"How did we get there, Sam?" Annie asked pointedly.

She narrowed her eyes. "The Originals? I thought they promised to leave us alone!"

"Dovewing promised us an adventure!" Polly interrupted, her clear blue eyes filled with watery tears. One fell out and splashed onto her hand, frightening her. "What's this?" she squealed.

"Tears," Ryan explained gently. "We Twolegs cry when we're sad."

Polly sniffed, wiping her eyes. "That's stupid."

"This is an awful adventure!" Francesca snapped, folding her arms crossly.

"This is what an adventure is," Annie said quietly. Her voice trembled as she continued, "Pain and heartbreak and terror. It's not fun. I tried to tell you girls..."

"Well, what are we going to _do_?!" Kyle demanded in frustration. "Who sent that note, anyways?"

"The Originals!" Sam Xavier exclaimed, banging her fist on the table. The plates rattled, and she continued, her face dark with anger, "It has to be them!"

"They wouldn't do that," Ryan said with a frown. "It's not in their style. They don't really care about us that much, not enough to interrupt our lives like this."

"This must be connected to the Clans somehow," Gail said. "We could try to contact StarClan."

Annie made a sound of disgust. "They won't help us. They're powerless, all they can do is predict, and they can't even do that very well."

"But they're _StarClan_!" Polly said in distress.

"They're not as powerful as they'd like you to believe," Annie said, shaking her head.

"Well, it has to be a human," Sammy put in. "A cat from your StarClan couldn't do this."

"He's right," Francesca admitted with a frown. He winked at her and she rolled her eyes. What a flirt. Even in a time like this. Just like Thorntail.

"Who do we know that knows about the Clans, and also hates us?" Ryan wondered aloud. "I mean, gosh. Not many humans know."

"And we're on good terms with the ones who do," Annie continued, biting her lip in worry. "Oh, my poor babies..."

"I can think of a couple who despise _me_, at the least," Sam Xavier put in. "I never got along with Max Andersen...or Allie Benson, for that matter."

"She's married now, her name's Blomquist," Annie said. "I went to her reception, it was couple years ago...she wouldn't do this, not matter how much animosity she had with you..."

"I'm gonna go t' the bathroom," Kyle mumbled, standing up and hustling away from the table. Francesca paid him no mind; she was listening to the conversation of the adults.

"...and I really can't see Max doing anything like that," Annie continued. "He wasn't even on the side of the Dark Forest during the war."

"Well, who of the human-cats was?" Ryan asked. "I don't know them all, and I certainly can't remember all their names..."

Sam began to rattle off names, and the older humans increasingly began to plot together. Francesca, finding she could not add anything to their conversations, fiddled with the bottom of her top overpelt—a "shirt", Annie had called it.

"Don't you wish we'd stayed in ThunderClan like I wanted?" Gail whispered to her.

Francesca glared at her. "No!"

"Come on, Finchwi—I mean, Francesca," her sister growled. "This is all your fault, and now their kids have been kidnapped, and our lives are all at risk!"

"It was just as much my fault as hers!" Polly said in Francesca's defense. "I wanted to go, too!"

"Stay out of this, Tagalong," Gail hissed. "This is between us!"

"Girls, is everything all right?" Ryan asked in concern.

Gail and Francesca glared at each other, but Polly piped up, "They're arguing about whose fault this is."

"It's no one's fault but the kidnapper's," Annie admonished. "Say sorry, girls." A tense smile crossed her lips. "Don't make me act like your mother, too."

"Sorry," Gail said stiffly.

"Sorry." Francesca didn't look her sister in the eyes when she said it. She didn't really mean it.

"What are your real names?" Sam Xavier asked curiously. "You're not really Francesca, Gail, and Polly, unless the Clans have drastically changed their naming system since I left."

"I'm Poolgaze," she said. "I'm not really related to them, just a friend. They are sisters, though. Littermates."

"I'm Finchwing," said "Francesca", abandoning her fake name with some relief. She much preferred her old name.

"And I'm actually Grayfeather," she finished.

"Thanks," Sam said with a nod. She turned back to Annie and Ryan. "So, that leaves who—Dan Green, Spencer Finn, and...?"

"That's it," Annie said. "And even then, Spencer's not a bad guy, not anymore, and I haven't seen Dan in years, I don't even know if he's still in the country—"

Sammy Crimsen, silent for so long, suddenly spoke. "Where's Kyle?" he asked, looking around in concern. "He didn't come back from the bathroom."

Annie stood up from her chair and ran to the bathroom door, knocking on it. Finchwing felt a twinge of worry and sympathy. The panic and fear on the kindly woman's face was hard to take it.

No one answered her knock, and she yanked the door open. A quick glance inside told her it was empty, and she looked back at the group gathered back at the table helplessly.

"He's not there," she said faintly.

"What's that on the floor?" Grayfeather asked, pointing to a scrap of paper on the floor.

Annie snatched up the note and read it quickly. "It's the ransom note," she said, "only Kyle...scribbled on the bottom..._Went to find them_."

The distraught mother looked up and let out a sob. "He's gone," she said, her voice cracking. "Kyle's gone."


	12. Chapter 12

I was very productive last week, so expect weekly updates for quite a while!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

* * *

Ryan rushed over to hug his wife, leaving Grayfeather staring at them in shock. She felt a horrible twinge of worry and care, and she realized with surprise that she was concerned. Not about her, not about Finchwing or Poolgaze, but about...these _Twolegs_. These kind and wonderful Twolegs who had taken them in and protected them from harm and put their own children at risk for her sake.

Grayfeather exchanged a glance with Poolgaze. The little girl with the big blue eyes had been growing steadily more and more distraught as the minutes passed. She looked even worse now.

"C'mere," Grayfeather told her gruffly, beckoning to her with her hands. Poolgaze scooted closer and buried herself in Grayfeather's arms, much to her surprise. She patted the younger girl sympathetically, murmuring, "It'll be all right, Poolgaze, it'll be all right..."

"Mom," Sammy said in a shaky voice. "Mom, are we really going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Annie whispered, wiping tears away from her eyes.

"It will be," Sam Xavier said firmly. "We'll work this out, as soon as we can."

"But what are we going to _do_?" Finchwing demanded, crossing her arms tensely. "We don't know where he's gone, we can't go running off into the blue, we..."

Poolgaze began to sniffle, then to cry, sobbing loudly. The adults looked toward her in worry. Grayfeather patted her on the back, whispering, "Come on, Poolgaze, let's take this to another room, come on, Tagalong..."

She nodded weakly and they got to their feet. "We're going into the other room, I'll sort this out," Grayfeather told the adults, Finchwing, and Sammy confidently. "We'll be right back."

"Don't do anything rash, girls," Ryan warned them.

"We'll be good," Grayfeather assured him.

As the others began to plot again, just as hopeless as before, Grayfeather let Poolgaze curl up close to her and sob.

"Hush," she whispered. "It'll all be fine, we'll go back to ThunderClan, we'll be happy again..."

"I don't _want_ to go back to ThunderClan," Poolgaze sobbed. "Not now! Mason and Holly and Kyle are gone and I'm _worried_, I want to help, we have to—"

"We don't _have to_ do anything," Grayfeather admonished. Why did it always fall to her to be the voice of reason? "Besides not do anything foolish, that is."

"You're just as bad as the rest of them!" the black-haired girl exclaimed, pushing away from her and wiping her streaming, red-tinted eyes. "We've got to do something! Find Kyle, rescue Mason—"

"Poolgaze, _no_," Grayfeather insisted. "We can't! _If_ we do anything, and we might not since leaving the house is exactly what these kidnappers want us to do, then we're doing it with the adults. They know what they're doing, they've been through this before, they—"

"They're not _doing_ anything!" Poolgaze shouted. "All they're doing is _talking_, and they could be _dying_ for all you know!"

"They're doing the best they can," Grayfeather protested, but she began to feel uneasy. Poolgaze was right—they were gone. "I just...feel bad," she admitted. "It's all our fault they're in this mess..."

Poolgaze jerked her head up, looking Grayfeather in the eye. "We can do something about it. Go and—"

"Absolutely not," she snapped back. "We're not leaving this house unless—"

"Let me finish!" Poolgaze exclaimed. "We'll go find Kyle. That's it. We'll come right back, he can't have gone far..."

"That's a stupid idea!" Grayfeather insisted. "We'll get captured!"

"No, we'll only go to the edge of the Twolegplace," the Tagalong persuaded. "We'll catch him, bring him back..."

"But..." Grayfeather's defense was weakening. If they weren't going far...not into danger...she supposed... "Fine," she conceded.

Poolgaze clapped her hands and squealed in excitement. She stood up quickly and said, "Then let's go!"

"We have to be careful," Grayfeather insisted. "Stick with me, Poolgaze. Please."

"I will, I promise," she said quickly. "Come _on_! I explored the house earlier. I know a back way out."

Grayfeather let Poolgaze pull her up and drag her through the Crimsens' house. At last they come to a small door that was slightly ajar.

"Through here," Poolgaze hissed. "It leads to behind the house."

Grayfeather quietly closed the door behind her, very nervous and apprehensive. "Are you sure you know the way?'

"Follow me," the younger cat-human insisted.

Poolgaze led her along a narrow grassy path that stank of Twoleg garbage. They passed a bin that reeked of the same stench. Grayfeather wrinkled her nose as they passed it.

"This way," the blue-eyed girl said, darting through a half-open gate. Grayfeather followed, hurrying not to be left behind.

The gate opened into the front of the house. Grayfeather sighted Poolgaze up ahead and ran toward her. "Wait for me!" she snapped to her companion.

"We have to hurry if we're going to catch Kyle!" she snapped back. "You said so yourself!"

"I know I did, I know," Grayfeather growled, speed walking to keep up to Poolgaze's run. "But you'll get nowhere if you lose me."

"Do you think we should have told Finchwing?" Poolgaze asked as they moved through the street. The sun was setting, staining the sky a deep red. "I bet she would've come."

"Not enough time," Grayfeather disagreed. "Anyway, she would have told on us."

"No, that's you," Poolgaze teased.

"I'm here now!" she protested.

"But you're the reasonable one, not rash like Finchwing. And me."

Grayfeather shook her head. "No, you're the sensitive one." She snorted in amusement. "Looks like I'm the Tagalong this time!"

Poolgaze rolled her clear blue eyes, opening her mouth to make a comment, but then she gasped and pointed to a few feet in front of them. "Look!" she shouted. "A shoe!"

The two girls picked up their pace and ran toward the beat up old thing. Grayfeather picked it up and inspected it.

"It's Kyle's," Poolgaze whispered.

"How would you know?" Grayfeather asked. "Do you look at his feet all the time or something?"

Poolgaze shot her a glare. "No, I just saw him put them on earlier today and I remembered."

Grayfeather bit her lip. "What do we do? Take it back to his parents?"

"No, we go looking for him!" Poolgaze insisted.

"You said just to the edge of the Twolegplace!" Grayfeather snapped. "We've come that far; the exit's just over there! We go back now!"

"Grayfeather—!"

"No complaints!" she shouted. "Back! Now!"

"Grayfeather, _look out_!"

She whirled around, wishing she was as light on her feet as a human as she was as a cat. Facing her were four big, burly Twolegs with menacing expressions.

"Poolgaze!" she screamed as they approached.

"Be quiet, girly," one of them said, before hitting her hard on the head. It was the last thing she heard before everything went black.


	13. Chapter 13

Guess who finished writing this story? _Me!_ Yay! Weekly updates until the story is over!

* * *

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

* * *

"Where are Grayfeather and Poolgaze?" Sammy said suddenly. "They haven't come back."

There was a long silence. Finchwing and the adults looked at him. Sam swore loudly, breaking the quiet, and Finchwing sprang to her feet, racing into the room the other two had vanished into.

Annie put her head in her hands, pulling backward until she held two fistfuls of hair. She didn't have to say anything—Sammy could tell his mother was distraught at these additional losses of those in her care.

Finchwing raced back in the room, her ginger hair flying about her shoulders. God, she was hot, Sammy thought ruefully. A cat, though, and out of his league besides.

"They're _gone_!" she cried out, kicking her chair in anger. "Foxdung-eating, troublesome little _runaways_! They didn't even invite me along!"

"Are we going to actually do something this time?" Sammy demanded. "That's _five_ kids who've vanished on us now. We can't just let them rot."

"Sammy, Finchwing," Ryan said urgently. "Promise me, whatever happens, you two won't run off. We've got to stick together now, if we're going to get any of them back."

"I promise," Sammy agreed.

Finchwing scowled, her eyes flashing, but she grumbled, "I promise."

"There's nothing we can _do_," Annie mumbled in distress. "Not unless we get captured ourselves...we don't even know who's doing it!"

"There is _something_ we can do," Sam Xavier said slowly. She didn't sound too happy about it, though.

"What do you mean?" Finchwing asked suspiciously. Everyone turned to look at the author.

"Do you mean..." Ryan frowned. "The Originals?"

"There's no way I'm going to them for help," Annie declared, crossing her arms. "I don't want to get caught up in their mischief again!"

"We already are," Sam Xavier countered. "And we _do_ need their help."

"How would you talk to them, though?" Sammy asked, puzzled.

"Oh, they're always listening," Ryan comforted him. "Aren't you, Star and Moon?"

He looked up expectantly. There was silence for a few moments.

"Or not," Finchwing muttered.

Just then, in a flash of light, four glorious beings appeared on the dining room table. Fortunately for them, Sammy had already done the dishes for that night.

He gasped, taking a good look at the beings. Two took the shape of humans: dark-skinned, long-haired, and beautiful. Two took the shape of cats: one pale silver, one pure white. They radiated elegance and power, and Sammy couldn't help but feel awe.

"You called?" asked the white cat in a smooth female voice.

"Yes, we did," Annie said, gritting her teeth and standing up. "You said you were done with us! you said we wouldn't be bothered again!"

"Well, we weren't exactly planning on it," one of the humans said. "We're having some trouble with a rogue spirit."

"Who _are _you?" Finchwing demanded, backing away from the table. "_What _are you?"

"Oh, sorry," the silvery cat said, turning to face her and Sammy. "I am Star, the first tomcat. This is Moon, the first she-cat."

"And I am First, the first man," the male human interrupted. "This is Also, my wife and the first woman."

"But..." Sammy trailed off. "...evolution?"

"We're talking cats with magical powers, and _that's_ your only issue?" Moon said, amused. "Believe me, evolution is not a problem. We're the first. That's not to say we came before all other _life_."

"Oh...alright," Sammy mumbled. He didn't really understand what was going on, but he just let it happen.

"A rogue spirit?" Ryan asked, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"He was _supposed_ to go to the Dark Forest after he died," Star said, twitching his tail in irritation, "but he defied us and escaped. Normally that couldn't happen, but he's a...special case, with his spirit being pulled two ways. He's been causing trouble ever since. He's meddling with human affairs now, calling on some of his servants in your world to aid his dark purposes..."

"Who is he?" Sam Xavier demanded. "And his servants?"

"I believe you're acquainted," Also said. "This rogue spirit is known as Dashwind, and he's caused quite a mess."

"Dashwind?" Annie exclaimed. "Really?"

"But—wasn't he that WindClan cat?" Ryan said with a frown.

"He was Josh Turner, a kid in our class, one of the original human-cats," Sam Xavier said grimly. "But why does he want the girls? And what quarrel does he have with the Crimsens?''

"We were friends, once," Annie said, frowning. Sammy watched her intently. All these names meant nothing to him, but he felt like he ought to pay attention anyway.

"Only..." Annie continued. "Well, I don't think he'd get so angry and vengeful over that..."

"Over what?" Sam Xavier asked urgently.

Sammy's mom shook his head. "He wanted to date me. I told him no. It was a long, long time ago. Once we were humans again, he moved away the next year...I never saw him again."

"You'd be surprised how long guys can hold a grudge over a rejection," Sammy put in. "Like, it's stupid in general and this is nuts, but that probably _is_ why."

"And him being a cat at the time probably affected things," Ryan added, frowning.

"Who are Dashwind's servants you mentioned?" Sam Xavier asked. "Would we know them?"

"The two main ones are also human-cats, or in one case, a cat-human," First said.

"Their names are Dan and Silena Green," Star added. "Or, Pigface and Silver."

"Silver!" Annie shouted, jumping to her feet. "You mean, SilverClan Silver? Silver who I killed in the Battle Under Fourtrees Silver?"

"That Silver," Also confirmed.

"And Dan Green," Sam Xavier said in disgust. "Wow. He's sunk pretty low."

"Are we going to get the kids back or not?" Finchwing demanded, her hands on her hips.

"There's only one way," Moon said, "one thing they won't expect. You must track them to their lair and rescue the children. Then call us down to deal with the ringleaders."

"But how?" Sammy asked. "We can't just magically track them down—can we?"

First smirked and waved one of his fingers. "One way," he repeated.

Suddenly Annie groaned, seemingly comprehending what was going on. "_Again_?" she demanded. "Last time you said—"

"We said a lot of things, but not all of them turned out to be true," Also said gently. "This is the only way."

"Oh," Sam Xavier exclaimed.

Sammy looked between his mother and her friend, not understanding. "What?" he said blankly.

"Well, if you must," Annie agreed reluctantly. "If it's the only way...fine."

"Very well!" First exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Good luck!"

Suddenly, an orange mist clouded Sammy's vision. He felt a tingling sensation throughout his body and swore loudly. Then he felt himself shrinking, and all went dark.


	14. Chapter 14

Thank you all for 70 reviews! Last chapter was the halfway mark for this story (I've changed it to 26 chapters instead of 24). If you keep this rate of reviews up, this story will have more reviews than any of my other ones by the time it's completed!

* * *

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

* * *

Annie stretched her cat legs, noting with pleasure that she was once again in the body she had owned as Gingerstar. She was a cat every night in her dreams, so she didn't have to miss it, but it did feel nice, even though in truth she had never wanted this to happen again.

First and Also were gone, but Star and Moon sat on the dining table, watching them in amusement.

Ryan and Sam were in the same bodies as usual. Two other cats, ones Annie had not seen before, sat in other chairs.

The golden tabby she-cat looked pleased with and happy. Annie could only assume she was Finchwing by the way she looked comfortable and content.

The tom, though, was shocked and scared, giving off a distinct fear-scent. He had a smoky black pelt and eyes as blue as his mother's. It was clearly Sammy, her son.

"Wh-what happened?" he squeaked out in terror.

"You're a cat, dear," Annie said comfortingly, leaping over to join him on his chair. "It's okay. It's only temporary." She glared up at the two remaining Originals. "Or at least, it had better be."

"Don't worry," Moon assured. "As soon as everything is sorted out, you'll be humans again."

"What about me?" Finchwing asked.

"You'll get to choose," Star said.

"I want to be a cat," she said immediately.

"We'll see about that later," Moon murmured.

"Where do we go to find them?" Ryan asked urgently.

"Go to where the note says," Star suggested. "Track them to their hideout from there. They won't notice cats."

"Are you sure?" Sam Xavier asked suspiciously. "They were cats themselves at one point."

"If you need any help, just call," Moon said. "We'll come." Without saying anything else, the two Originals vanished.

"Good riddance," Annie grumbled. "They were getting hair all over the table."

"Let's get going!" Ryan exclaimed, leaping from the chair and racing to the door, his tail waving.

Annie agreed. She jumped down and followed him, with Sam and Finchwing right behind her. Sammy fell down from his chair and stumbled after the others, clearly unsteady on his new legs.

"Come on, Sammy!" Sam called out.

"This is hard," he shouted in frustration. "I'm not used to this like you guys are!"

Ryan pawed at the door handle until it opened. Annie ran out past him, tasting the air for the scent of her children and the two younger girls. She caught the familiar stench of Twolegs, that had grown more of a perfume the longer she lived in her home as one of them herself, and recognized Kyle.

"I have Kyle's scent!" she announced, waving her tail. "Follow me!"

Sammy lagged behind the rest of the cats, who were much more used to this. Annie did not fall back to keep him company, she had to focus on leading the group along the path Kyle had taken. She did hear Finchwing keeping pace with him and making small talk. Sammy was blustering and boasting, trying to impress her. Annie smiled wryly. So her son had a crush. She doubted it would work out for him, Finchwing had no interest in him or in staying human.

Annie led the group along through the neighborhood, keeping her nose high in the air, the better to catch Kyle's scent without confusing it with the smells stuck to the ground. They had reached the edge of the neighborhood when Kyle took a sharp right turn. Annie frowned. Why had he gone that way? The lot where the ransom note had said to come was left.

"This way," she announced, following the scent trail.

"The lot's the other way," Ryan said in confusion.

"Kyle went right," she explained.

"Why would he do that?" Sam Xavier asked, turning her head in puzzlement.

"I don't know!" she snapped. "Just follow me!"

Soon they understood. He doubled back after a few blocks, heading into town. But then his scent became strangely mingled with unfamiliar smells, and then stopped altogether.

"Where did he go?" Annie demanded angrily, pacing around. "Kyle! Are you still here?"

"He wouldn't understand if he was," Finchwing pointed out. "_He's_ not a cat now."

Sammy wrinkled his nose. "I think I smell something," he said hesitantly. "That way—do you think maybe he was captured, too?"

Annie fell silent. She hated to think of that. First Holly, her little treasure, and Mason, the sweet singer, had been captured—and now Kyle, too? Plus Grayfeather and Poolgaze, who had been under watch as well.

She nodded to Sammy. "I don't smell it, Sammy. You lead."

"I—me lead?" he stammered uncertainly.

"Yes," Ryan agreed. "You know your brother. Go on."

"O-okay," Sammy agreed hesitantly.

Sammy walked forward slowly. He led them away from the lot, all the way to the other side of town—the nasty side. Even Annie could smell it now, residual fear-scent from her son everywhere.

"Here," Sammy announced, stopping outside a run-down, lightless house. "He's in here."

"Are you sure?" Sam Xavier asked. "It doesn't look like anyone's home."

"Wouldn't you want people to think that if you were doing that?" Ryan pointed out.

"Look," Annie said. She walked up to a small vent at the bottom of the house. "Listen."

Faint crying wafted up to their ears through the vent. Annie knew that noise—it was Holly.

"Holly," Sammy whispered.

"They're here," Ryan said.

"How do we get in?" Finchwing asked, tilting her head. "They won't think much of cats, to be sure, but they _will_ notice us."

"We could sneak in as humans," Sam suggested. "Pretend we belong here."

"But—" Annie protested, seeing a million different problems with that plan.

Suddenly Star and Moon appeared in front of them again. "It will work, up to a point," Star said.

"What do you mean, up to a point?" Annie asked suspiciously. She didn't trust the Originals, not one bit, after everything that had happened between them.

"They'll notice you if you've got the children," Moon explained. "But we could turn you—and them—back into cats at that point."

"It does seem pretty reasonable," Ryan said, nodding.

"We've got to get them back," Sammy said firmly in a small voice.

Annie didn't like it, but she couldn't see a better option. "All right," she said reluctantly. "Back to humans we go."

The group quickly reassumed their human forms in the usual transformative process. Annie cracked her knuckles and felt along the wall. To her surprise, she found a doorknob. She yanked on it, and a well-hidden, dirt-covered door opened into a dimly lit passage on the inside in the building.

"They really need better security," she muttered.

"Hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Ryan said cheerfully. "We can get in easily this way."

Sam picked up a blunt-tipped stick from the ground. "Just in case," she explained grimly.

"All right, we should split up," Finchwing said. Sammy nodded in agreement.

"I'll go with Ryan," Annie said. "We'll look for our kids. You two can search for the girls." She pointed at Sam Xavier and Finchwing.

"Hey, what about me?" Sammy protested. "I'm going too!"

Annie shook her head, scowling. "No, you're not. I'm not letting you go in there. I don't want to lose you, too."

"You can guard the door and make sure no one notices it's open," Ryan suggested. "Your mother's right, Sammy. Not this time."

He scowled, but neither Finchwing nor Sam spoke up for him. Muttering a foul word under his breath (Annie pretended not to hear—she couldn't blame him, and she felt the same way), he kicked the dirt and crossed his arms. "Fine!"

"All right," Finchwing said, facing the door. "Let's go in."


	15. Chapter 15

Saturday update bc I want reviews and none of my other fics are getting any

Enjoy Kyle's misery

* * *

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN**

* * *

Kyle shivered in the dark, cold room he had found himself in after he had come to. It was almost wet in here, like a chilly cave with sweating walls. He had been in here for nearly an hour, plus however long he had been unconscious, and he felt terribly, terribly alone.

He had set out to look for his younger siblings, furious that the adults, supposedly the responsible ones who knew what to do, were doing nothing. He had snuck off and ran out to the neighborhood's edge, not thinking clearly, searching for Mason and Holly. If something had happened to them...

Soon Kyle had realized how foolish he was being. He had no idea where he or they were going. He tried to remember what the ransom note had said: behind the supermarket, right? He would start by going there.

He had jogged to the edge of the neighborhood when he saw the short woman. She was middle-aged, with a friendly smile and short-cut hair that had been dyed so many times not even it knew what it's natural color was. She was using her phone when he approached, but she looked up and made eye contact with him as he drew closer.

A thought struck him. Kyle stopped jogging, catching his breath, then asked her, "Have you seen a—a group of people pass by here recently? With two kids? They wouldn't have been too happy to be with them, though."

"Wouldn't they be in a car?" the woman asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I—well—maybe—" he stammered.

"I think I did see someone," she said thoughtfully. "A boy about thirteen, and a girl about six or seven?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed, wringing his hands. "Where did they go?"

"With us, of course," she said calmly, turning her phone off and pocketing it.

"What?" he said, caught off guard.

She smirked. A group of burly, rough-looking men who had been loitering by a car several feet away turned and approached him.

Kyle swore loudly. Of _course_ he had the bad luck of running right into his siblings' captors. Now, of course, they would try to kidnap him as well.

Well, not without a fight. Kyle crouched down instinctively, tensing his muscles and balling his fists. Before he could even take a single swing, though, he felt an intense pain on the back of his neck, and he blacked out.

He had woken in the dark room later, though he didn't know how long he had been out. There were no lights save for a tiny crack at the bottom of the door, and he thought it was in the basement of some awful house because of the cold.

Kyle could hear quiet voices and the shuffling of feet above him, but he didn't know who was causing the noises. No one had come to see him or feed him or anything. He hadn't' tried to cry out, for he knew in his heart no one would come. Anywhere his parents would go would only be a trap, despite whatever supernatural, catty forces were aiding them. Besides, if they hadn't even done anything to rescue Holly and Mason, why would they come for him?

He heard faint footsteps approaching the door outside and he sat up, alert. His hands were bound, though not his feet, and he had no gag or blindfold. He doubted he could escape, but he could try.

The door opened. The short woman from before and a boy about his age stood in the doorframe. The woman wore a disdainful smirk, the boy a look of fear and faint apprehension.

They moved into the room. Kyle clumsily got to his feet and growled, "Where are my brother and sister? What have you done with them?"

The woman, quick as lightning, got behind him and restrained him as the boy took out a cloth and bound his eyes. Kyle's furious, unanswered shouts became muffled then stopped altogether as he felt the boy gag him as well. So much for little restraints.

"Don't struggle," the woman commanded in a smooth, professional voice. "This is only temporary. If you're good, we may let you see your siblings."

That shut Kyle up. The woman pushed him forward and led him, stumbling, out of the room and through the hall.

He mumbled something unintelligible. He heard the boy say, "Sorry. We've gotta keep you gagged until—"

"Don't apologize to your prisoners, boy," the woman said flatly, interrupting him. "It's a bad habit."

"I'm not looking to enter the kidnapping business," the boy complained. Kyle's mind worked fast. He could tell the boy was reluctant to help the woman. If somehow he could convince him to let him go—

"If my parents find out you're hitting me—" the boy continued snootily, but the woman cut across him again.

"They'll pay me extra," the woman snapped. "They hate you as much as I do. Feel lucky they haven't killed you already."

"My parents love me!" the boy protested, but he didn't sound very confident. The woman snorted, and Kyle felt a rush of sympathy for him.

At last, they came to their destination. Kyle's mind filled with fear and anger. He didn't know what lay ahead. All he knew was that he wanted to save his siblings and that he hated his captors.

"I've got him, Dan," the woman said.

"Thanks, Jackie," a new voice said, rough and deep. "Bring him in."

Kyle was shoved forward into the room. The woman let go of him, but the boy grabbed him instead.

"All right. You need anything else from me, Dan?" the woman, Jackie asked, sounding oddly respectful. She must be working for this Dan guy.

"This is it," the man said, but he was quickly cut off by another voice, as smooth and chilly as cold steel.

"Actually, Jackie...could you and the Teeth guard the house for a few hours? We wouldn't want anyone to interrupt us."

Kyle widened his eyes underneath the blindfold. Were they going to question him? Torture him?

"I think I've repaid you already, Silena," Jackie said, disapproval tinging her voice. "What with the kidnap—five of 'em, when you said only two, and kids, too—and waitin' in the lot for the ransom...Unless—"

"We'll pay," Silena, the steely voice, offered. "The usual amount?"

"I'll be upstairs," Jackie said, apparently appeased.

"Close the door behind you," Dan called out after her. The door slammed shut.

Kyle was confused. _Five_ kidnapped kids, has Jackie said? Him, Holly, Mason...that left two others. Panic seized him. Had they captured the girls, too?

"So..." Silena said silkily, her voice a low purr, "this is the older boy. Kyle the Brave. How nice to meet you."

Kyle growled through the gag, hating his captors. The boy had remained after Jackie's departure. He wondered what significance he had in this evil plot. Were Silena and Dan his parents, the ones who Jackie said hated him?

"Take his gag off, Cameron," Silena ordered. The boy, Cameron, obeyed, and Kyle could talk again.

"Where are my siblings?" he demanded.

"They're safe," Dan said. "That's part of the bargain. If your parents, turn in the girls...well, just _girl_ singular now..."

"You have some of the girls?" he demanded, fear creeping into his mind.

"You care about them, then?" Silena said mockingly. "Or...perhaps one in particular?"

Kyle was disgusted. "No!" he protested. "I just don't want you to hurt them! I'm a decent person!" He knew Mason had a crush on the youngest, Poolgaze, and that Sammy though Finchwing was hot, but he didn't have any romantic attraction toward them or Grayfeather. To say so was ridiculous.

"Do you think they'll send us the last girl?" Silena asked, changing the subject.

"No!" Kyle protested.

"Perhaps they'll change their mind when we send them one of your hands—or your head," Dan suggested cruelly.

Kyle gasped in horror. Silena sighed and snapped, "Not yet! Give them another day, at least. I want the ransom to be as valuable to them as possible. That means we need him alive."

"Why do we need the last girl?" Cameron asked from behind Kyle. "If we have two already—"

"We need to make sure the Peacekeeper is never born," Dan growled. "And we don't know which of them will bear her. They must _all_ die, and having three will make the sacrifice all the more potent."

Kyle gasped again. "You can't do this!" he protested. Surely no one could be that evil!

"We will, though," Silena said calmly. "Are you sure you do not know?"

"Never!" Kyle shouted.

"Take him away, Cameron," Dan said dismissively. "We don't need him right now."

Cameron put the gag back on Kyle even as he struggled in vain. Even though the boy was his age, he was bigger and stronger. Kyel was taken out of the room and through the hall, still blindfolded. He had not even gotten to see his captors.

He had not yet returned to the original room he'd been lodged in when Cameron stopped. Kyle could hear others in the hall.

"Who are you?" Cameron asked, puzzled. "I've never seen you before. Are you with the Teeth?"

"Um...yes," a familiar voice said. Kyle felt a rush of hope. It was Sam!

"What are you doing here?" Cameron inquired sharply.

Sam sighed. "Nevermind."

"What—?" Cameron protested. He was cut off by the sound of a dull thud. Kyle's captor crumpled to the floor.

He made noises of protest until rough hands removed his blindfold and gag. He blinked in the dim light, looking up at Sam, who held a thick, blunt stick, closely followed by a concerned Finchwing.

"What are you doing here?" he exclaimed.

"Rescuing you," Sam said, grinning. "Come on! We've got to find the others."


	16. Chapter 16

Here's this week's update. I'll probably update again next Tuesday or so.

* * *

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN**

* * *

Finchwing grabbed Kyle's arm and pushed him forward. "Move it," she said briskly. He was just standing there stupidly looking at them while his captor stirred on the ground. They had to get him out of there, fast, and then find the other kids, wherever _they_ were.

"But—what about Holly and Mason?" the boy protested.

"We'll get them, too," Sam Xavier promised. She had been a delight to work with, Finchwing had discovered. Very businesslike and a great leader. Finchwing was happy to follow her lead. She knew what she was doing. Not that Annie didn't—they were both great leaders. Sam was just...a little more direct. Less distracted, as it wasn't _her_ children who had been kidnapped. She was more focused.

"We've got to get you to safety first," she added. "We'll leave you with Sammy. He's guarding the exit."

"No, I wanna go! I wanna find my siblings!" Kyle protested, wriggling free from Finchwing's grip.

"Your parents are on that job," Sam clarified. "We're looking for Grayfeather and Poolgaze, strictly. Finding you was a bonus."

"Your parents will want you safe with your brother," Finchwing said softly.

Kyle scowled, then nodded. "Fine. Take me to Sammy."

"What about _him_?" Finchwing said, pointing to the semi-conscious boy who was groaning in a heap on the ground. He didn't look very dangerous. He wasn't any older than Kyle, really.

Sam grunted. "Leave him."

"He'll raise the alarm," she protested.

Sam scowled. She kicked the boy. "Get up," she growled at him.

Dutifully, he scrambled to his feet, blinking. He put his hands up in the air. Finchwing frowned. What did that mean in Twoleg-speak?

"What's your name?" Sam asked.

"Cameron Green," he answered quickly, his voice shaking. "Please don't hurt me!"

Sam wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Don't be ridiculous. All we'll do is tie you up somewhere inconspicuous and leave you where they won't find you anytime soon."

"Wait," Kyle said. "Do you know where my brother and sister are?" he demanded of their captive.

"I—n-no," Cameron stammered. He looked away when he said it, though, fidgeting. Unless body language was that much different from cats to humans, Finchwing could tell he was lying.

"You lie," she said coldly. "You _do_ know. Where are they? Can you take us to them?"

Silently, the boy nodded.

"Then take us there, boy," Sam growled, pushing him to the front of the group. "And if you lead us into a trap, you'll never get back here."

"That would be nice," Cameron mumbled. He took the lead, Sam poking his back with a blunt stick she had picked up outside the building before they had gone in. Finchwing had preferred to trust her luck and her warrior training, even in her new, clumsy body. She had very much appreciated the return to being a cat, but she did find that she did not hate returning to being a Twoleg, oddly enough.

"You mean you don't want to come back here?" Kyle asked, raising one brow.

"No!" Cameron exclaimed. He turned a corner, lowering his voice. "I can't stand them."

"You mean Silena and Dan? Do you work for them or something?" Kyle pressed.

"They're...they're my employers, I guess," the boy mumbled.

"Would you like to be unemployed?" Sam asked as they walked on, her voice only half a joke.

Cameron shrugged. "I guess. You can't exactly leave your own parents, though. I'm stuck."

There was a silence.

"Your _parents_?" Finchwing exclaimed.

"They treat you that bad and they haven't got caught?" Kyle said incredulously. "They could go to jail!"

Cameron snorted. "You think they care about the law? None of this is legal—kidnapping and sacrifice and murder. If I knew half of it...I could get them in huge trouble, were it not for their gangs and friends.

He stopped outside a door. "The girls are in here, I think." He knocked.

"Go away, you monsters!" one of them shouted. Finchwing's heart jumped. She knew that voice as well as her own. It was Grayfeather, her sister!

She tried to open the door. It was locked. She glared at the boy. "Open it!" she ordered him.

He spread his hands, a helpless look on his face. "I don't have the keys."

"You can't pick locks?" Sam asked critically.

Cameron shook his head. "You think they would teach me?"

"Where are the keys?" Kyle demanded.

"Right here," an evil voice said.

The group whirled around to face a gang of three tough-looking humans. At their head was a short woman dangling the aforementioned keys by one finger.

"Only, you're not going to get them," the woman said with a smirk. She snapped her fingers and two burly men stepped forward.

Finchwing crouched down and prepared to grapple with the larger of the two, but Sam's stick sailed over her head and hit him square on the forehead with a dull clunk. His eyes rolled up into his head and he crumpled to the floor.

Sam Xavier launched herself at the smaller man, leaving the woman to Finchwing and Kyle.

"You," Kyle growled. "Give those keys to me!"

"Finchwing, Kyle, _go_!" Sam shouted as she grappled with the burly man.

"Not without you!" Finchwing growled. Kyle balled his fists and swung at the woman, who ducked effortlessly and socked him in the stomach. Kyle lurched backwards, gasping.

Finchwing picked up Sam's stick, leaped over the bigger man's unconscious body, and landed on the woman's back, grabbing her in a chokehold. The woman leaned backward, swearing vilely, trying to shake Finchwing off.

Sam finished with her man and turned, panting to help her. Finchwing noticed Cameron watching uncertainly in the background and screamed at him, "Do something!"

The boy frowned, then turned tail and ran.

"Fox-dung eating traitor!" she shrieked after him, loosening her grip on the woman. Suddenly, she was thrown off and landed hard on the ground.

Sam took over with the woman. In a few minute, their opponent turned tail and ran, leaving the three would-be rescuers without a guide, keys, or any means of saving Grayfeather and Poolgaze.

Finchwing got to her feet and hammered on the door. "Grayfeather!" she shouted. "Poolgaze!"

"Finchwing!" Grayfeather called out.

There was the sound of running feet coming down the hall. Sam swore loudly.

"We have to go," she urged. "Normally I'd pick the lock, but we don't have the time. We can't wait around, even to get them free. We'll come back soon, but we need to get Kyle to safety first."

"We have to go," Finchwing told her sister apologetically, feeling the awful truth of the words lie heavy on her heart. "I promise we'll be back, but they're coming."

"Be safe!" Poolgaze called out.

"I will," she said softly. "Bye."

Sam and Kyle were already at the end of the hall, waiting for her anxiously. She sprinted after them.

"This way," Sam said. She led them through the building to a small vent in the wall. "Sammy!" she called out. "Let us out—we've got Kyle!"

"Really?" Sammy's voice came from the other side of the wall. He sounded nervous and suspicious. Finchwing rolled her eyes. Obviously, leaving him on guard duty had been a mistake. "Prove it!"

"Sammy, it's me!" Kyle said.

"All right," the oldest Crimsen boy said, grudgingly opening a hidden door that was impossible to see from the inside. "Had to be safe."

As the three of them walked through the door, Annie and Ryan appeared, running toward them in panic. The couple darted through the hidden entrance and slammed it shut behind them, panting.

"They saw us," Ryan explained through gasps of air.

Annie had noticed Kyle. She squealed and embraced her second son, hugging him fiercely.

"You're safe," she cried. "Don't you ever run away on me like that again!"

He pushed her away. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I had to do _something_. And Holly and Mason _aren't_ safe. And—the girls...they're going to be killed!"

"You didn't tell us that!" Finchwing exclaimed.

"I'm telling you now," Kyle said. "We have to go back in."


	17. Chapter 17

Yay, I'm finally out of school! Here's a new chapter to celebrate :)

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN**

* * *

Ryan laid his hand on his son's shoulder. "Tell us the whole story," he said calmly. Internally, he was far from calm, but he had to stay cool and collected at least on the outside to make sure Kyle didn't get even more nervous than he already was.

After separating from Finchwing and Sam, he and Annie had spent a fruitless half hour wandering around. They had seen no one and found nothing, and Annie grew more and more agitated by the minute. Ryan had tried to calm her down, but once they had been sighted, he hadn't had a chance. The couple had been forced to run away and out the secret door, where they had found Sam and Finchwing with Sammy, who had stayed behind to guard the door, and, miraculously, Kyle.

Annie had let go of Kyle but now clutched his hand, a fiercely protective glare darting accusingly from person to person. Ryan patted his son's back comfortingly, silently urging Kyle to tell them what had happened.

"I—I ran away because you weren't doing anything, and I had to go look for Holly and Mason," he began. All eyes were on Ryan's second son. "I realized how stupid that was, but before I could turn back and go home, they got me. The woman you were fighting, Sam?" he said, glancing at the Crimsens' family friend. "That was her. She's called Jackie. She's some kind of gang leader, I think."

"The Originals said Silver and Pigface were behind it," Annie said with a frown. "Not this Jackie woman."

"They are, I think, if their human names are Silena and Dan," Kyle assured, "but they hired Jackie to do their dirty work for them. Anyway, I woke up in there." He pointed to the house. "They had knocked me out. After a little while, I don't know how long, Jackie and a boy came in. They blindfolded and gagged me, then took me to another room."

Ryan saw Annie's grip on Kyle's hand tighten. She was mad they would do that to her son. Ryan shook his head slightly. He was angry, too, but now was not a time to frighten Kyle. He was nervous enough, relating this story.

"Then..." Kyle trailed off, shuddering. "They asked me if you'd send in Finchwing for the ransom of me and Holly and Mason. I told them no, of course you wouldn't."

Finchwing smiled thinly. "Thanks for your support."

He shrugged. "We're not monsters, after all. Then...they said they were going to sacrifice the girls to stop someone from being born. And there was something about raising a spirit."

Sammy scowled. "Sacrifice? That doesn't sound good."

"And raising a spirit...did they mean Dashwind?" Ryan wondered aloud. "The Originals said he was manipulating them, after all."

"It could be," Sam Xavier agreed.

"Then the boy, Cameron, who's their kid—"

"Their _kid_?" Annie exclaimed in surprise. "They had a _kid_ together?"

"I guess, yeah," Kyle said, a little confused.

Annie scowled. "Go on, Kyle."

"He took me out of that room and toward the first one. Only then, Sam and Finchwing found me."

"We took custody of the two boys," Sam said with a crooked smile. "We took off the blindfold from Kyle and made Cameron lead us to where the girls were being held."

"Are they okay?" Ryan asked, concerned.

"They're fine, for now," Finchwing said. "The door was locked. The woman, Jackie, she had the keys. We had a fight. Cameron got away. We had to make a break for it."

"And then we came back here," Kyle finished.

There was a silence. "We didn't find anything," Ryan admitted. "We had to run before we could really explore."

"So that's how it stands, huh?" Sam said. "At least we got Kyle back."

"We still have to rescue the others!" Annie exclaimed. "The girls, and my children!"

Ryan squeezed her hand. "_Our_ children. We won't give up on them, Annie."

"We need a new plan," Finchwing said. "The last one didn't really work. Any ideas?"

"I'm pulling a blank," Sammy admitted.

Kyle shook his head. Ryan didn't have any ideas, either.

Sam frowned thoughtfully. "Well, if going in as humans didn't work, we could try going as cats."

"Cats can't pick locks or hold keys," Annie disagreed. "You said the girls' room was locked."

"But no one would pay attention to a group of cats," Sam argued.

Ryan shook his head. "I don't know. I would think it was pretty weird."

"And what if one of them was allergic to cats and alerted them that way?" Sammy brought up.

"I'm confused," Kyle piped up.

"You know how the girls and I are actually cats, and what happened to your parents?" Finchwing said.

"Yeah," he said.

"The Original cats and humans can change us back into cats," she explained. "That's how we tracked you here."

"Oh," he said. "I don't think that would work. Not unless we could turn into flies or something."

"They'll be more alert now," Annie said. "We shouldn't go in the same way."

"We could try a diversion," Ryan suggested. "Have someone go in through the front and distract them. Then the rest of us could come in the back way and find the kids."

There was a round of nodding. Ryan smiled, glad to be able to help.

"We could even go in as cats," Sam said thoughtfully, still stuck on that line of thought. "They won't be expecting that, if we do run into anyone."

"I still don't think that's a good idea," Annie disagreed, sounding reluctant. "Who will be the diversion?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I will," Finchwing offered. "They won't recognize me."

"But it's you they're after!" Sammy exclaimed. "It's too dangerous."

"They'll recognize all of you guys," she shot back. "They won't know me. I'm the only one who can do it."

"I think she's right," Kyle said. Ryan nodded, supporting her.

"Fine," Sam agreed. "I'll go with her, stay hidden just in case she needs to get out of there quickly."

"And us Crimsens will look for the kids," Annie finished. "Sounds like a plan."

"Can you guys pick locks?" Sam asked. "You'll need to."

The Crimsens all shook their heads. "Gennie can pick locks," Annie recalled. "Now I wish she was here."

"No need, I can do it too," Sam said briskly. "How about Ryan goes with Finchwing? I'll help out with you guys."

Ryan wanted to go with his wife and sons in the search, but he knew Sam was right. "Alright," he agreed.

"One more thing," Annie announced. "Boys, you're staying here."

Sammy and Kyle broke into loud protests. "I stayed back last time!" Sammy pointed out.

"And I can't just wait here with a sense of dread!" Kyle exclaimed. "I have to know what's happening! I want to help!"

"Yeah, we want to help! We care about our siblings, too!" Sammy argued.

"I don't want to lose you, too!" Annie said, tears in her eyes.

"Your mother's right, boys," Ryan said in gentle support of his wife. Privately, he agreed with the boys. He had done plenty of dangerous things when he was their maturity. But he sympathized with Annie, too—he wanted them safe—and it was better for their marriage if they were united. "You'll be safer here."

"I think they should go," Finchwing announced. "They can help. And you'll need all the help you can get."

"Exactly!" Sammy said hotly. Sam Xavier nodded quietly, but she didn't interrupt the family argument.

Ryan agreed with both sides, but since both Annie and his sons looked at him for support, he had to make the final decision.

He sighed. "We _do_ need the help, dear," he admitted.

Annie glared at him with a look that accused him of breaking their united front. He shrugged, silently telling her that they had do what was necessary to get their youngest children back.

"Do you want Mason and Holly back or not?" Kyle demanded.

Annie flinched. She looked down, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine," she mumbled. "They can come."

"Great!" Sam Xavier said brightly, breaking the family tension. "Let's get ready."


	18. Chapter 18

We're back to the girls now! This is a shorter chapter, sorry. :P

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN**

* * *

Poolgaze slept uneasily, quite different from her usual slumber. Her dreams were scattered and fractured, each ending bloodily. In her mind, she heard a whisper: _Is it you? Is it you? I don't know. Better kill all, just to make sure._

She would with a start, her heart pounding. She sat up quickly, her eyes wide. Fear-scent and sweat filled the small, cold room where she and Grayfeather were being held.

"Grayfeather?" she asked quietly. "You awake?"

The brown-haired girl grunted in response. "I am now. What is it?"

Poolgaze closed her eyes. "I want to go home."

Grayfeather sighed. "We will. Probably. Go back to sleep, Poolgaze."

"Okay," she whispered, lying back down. She closed her eyes and drifted into an entirely different kind of slumber.

This was just like her dream from the night she had spent in the Crimsens' house. It was clear and vivid, just like real life. In it, she was a cat. Strangely, the body felt almost odd.

She overlooked the ThunderClan-WindClan border. Her Clanmates were grappling with cats of the rival Clan.

"What's going on?" she wondered aloud. "Why are they fighting?"

"They are fighting over the border," a voice said. Poolgaze shivered.

"Are you one of the Originals?" she asked, a bit spooked.

"Yes," another voice, similar in tone, answered smoothly.

"Oh. Okay," she said quietly. She looked down at the fighting cats, feeling oddly detached from them. "Will they be okay? ThunderClan, I mean?"

"Yes," the male voice said. "None will die, but a war is brewing. The border dispute and the disappearance of three young, healthy warriors has your Clan well riled up...I'm afraid more fights will come, if you do not return."

"Then we must go back," she said, a little heavily.

"You cannot," the female voice said. "You must stay until you have completed your task."

"What is my task?" she asked.

"You must stop the rise of Dashwind," the male voice replied. "You must ensure the birth of the Peacekeeper. Then you may return, if you choose."

Poolgaze nodded. Her resolve strengthened. "And that voice, the one I heard earlier...was that Dashwind?"

"Yes."

"Who is he?"

"He is a rogue spirit," the female voice explained. "He was a human, then a cat, then a human again...after his second death he refused to go to either of the human or cat afterlifes and left us and the human Originals. Even we, Original beings, cannot control him. If he rises, it will be in a form of two worlds, one that cannot be stopped. He will destroy the Clans, and all you and the Crimsen family hold dear."

"Then he must be stopped," Poolgaze said firmly. "Who is the Peacekeeper?"

"She is among you now," the male voice said, "though she does not know her role. Chaos springs around her, but she calms it. You know her."

"I do?" she said in surprise.

"Of course you do," the female voice said. "She is a mother and warrior, a friend and a leader."

"Annie," Poolgaze whispered in recognition.

"Eventually, however, she will die, as all mortals must," the male Original said. Poolgaze wished she remembered their names from when Annie had mentioned them earlier. "One must replace her, one of her bloodline. This one will keep Dashwind at bay, become the new Peacekeeper...and Dashwind knows this. He is trying to stop her birth by killing you, our messengers, and Annie's offspring."

"How can I stop this?" Poolgaze said, strangely calm. She knew logically she should be freaking out, but her mind was clear.

"We will show you," the female voice said.

The dream changed. Now, Poolgaze overlooked a dimly lit room. Two humans, one an ugly, middle-aged man, the other a beautiful but cold woman, sat with a flickering candle between them.

"Master, what must we do?" the woman said. Poolgaze shivered. There was no love or mercy in that voice, only cold malice.

"The third girl will come to you soon," a voice replied. Poolgaze gasped. It was the voice from before—Dashwind! "Take her, and begin the sacrifice."

"Yes, Master," the man said. "And the children?"

"You were foolish to let the boy escape," Dashwind growled. "But all is not lost. They will try to rescue them again. Then you must take the older boys—both of them. Make them watch the rite. Then dispose of them as you see fit. Leave none of the four alive."

Poolgaze gasped again. How awful! They were planning to sacrifice her, Finchwing, and Grayfeather, then to kill the Crimsen children!

"Yes, Master," the woman intoned.

"Does your boy know of his role in the rite?" Dashwing asked.

The man shook his head. "No, Master. We did not plan to tell him until the time came."

"The time is at hand, Pigface," Dashwind announced. "Inform him of the plan. If he proves strong, you may keep him. I can find further use for him. If he falters...dispose of him."

"Yes, Master," the woman said. She sounded almost...eager.

Before Poolgaze could witness any more, her dream changed again. Now she saw Annie, Ryan, Sammy, Kyle, Finchwing, and Sam, plotting their rescue. She tried to call out, to warn them it was a trap, but they did not hear her.

They spoke of a diversion. Poolgaze knew it wouldn't work: they knew it was coming.

"You cannot warn them," one of the Originals said. "These things must happen as they will. We can only observe."

"_You_ can only observe," the male added.

"How can I stop this?" she cried. "I can't do anything!"

"The boy, Cameron, will come to you soon," the female aid. "You will be prepared now."

"Good luck, Poolgaze," the male whispered. "You are waking."

"But—" she protested.

She woke with a start. Grayfeather was awake this time.

"Hi," the other girl said.

Poolgaze sat up and grabbed her hand. "Grayfeather!" she exclaimed. "Finchwing's in trouble! _We're_ in trouble!"

"What? How do you know?" she demanded.

"We're all in trouble," she whispered, slumping. "But we can only wait."


	19. Chapter 19

We're really close to 100 reviews, only 13 left to go! Think we can make it by chapter 21?

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

* * *

Finchwing and Ryan snuck along the wall of the kidnappers' house. Finchwing could feel her heart pounding in her chest: _thump, thump, thump_. She was nervous. She didn't want to get caught, but she had volunteered to do this, after all. She had to go through with it.

She and Ryan had agreed on a plan as soon as they had left the rest of the group. Ryan was to cross the street and watch the proceedings. The kidnappers might recognize him, and they had to avoid that if possible.

Finchwing, on the other hand, would be the distraction. She would wander up, wearing her most vacant and innocent expression, and start babbling to whoever came to the door when she knocked. Hopefully, she could keep them busy long enough to give the Crimsens and Sam enough time to complete their rescue operation. And if she got caught and captured...well, that was what Ryan was there for.

Only, if he couldn't save her...

She turned around to face him.

"You ready?" Ryan whispered.

"Yeah," she said, but first, promise me something."

"Okay. What is it?" he asked.

"If they catch me, don't come after me," she told him.

He protested quietly, but she across him. "Go back to Annie and the others. Get your kids. Get my sister and Poolgaze. Then come after me. No need to endanger your life by coming after me alone."

Reluctantly, he nodded. "All right. But we _will_ come get you, you know. We won't leave you to their mercy."

"Thanks," she said, sincere for once. Then she regained her sassy confidence. "Of course, that _won't_ happen. But just in case."

"Of course," he said, his face perfectly straight.

"Let's go," she said.

Ryan nodded and moved into the shadows. He was going back to a place where he could cross the street without being noticed. Finchwing steeled herself, ignoring her pounding heart and anxious nerves, then walked forward into the light.

She sauntered comfortably up to the door of the house. Her mind buzzed, screaming logically that this was a bad idea, but she ignored it.

Finchwing walked to the door. It was a crusty, unappealing block of wood, with chipped colors and a rusty stench. She wrinkled her nose, but raised a fist to the wood and knocked firmly three times.

As she waited for someone to answer, she tried to remember how to be an empty-headed flirt. She had learned that humans valued their females' hips and teats sexually, which she found odd, but she would try to work that to her advantage. She pushed her shoulders back, moving her chest forward, and assumed her most vacant, wide-eyed expression.

A few moments later, Finchwing heard heavy footsteps approaching the door. It swung open. A large man stood in the doorway.

She smiled up at him. "Hello," she said brightly. "Do you know who lives here?"

He frowned, glancing down at her chest, then looked back up into her eyes. "What are you doing here, girly? How did you find this place?"

"I walked," she said vaguely. He seemed confused, but she needed to distract more than just one person. She swayed slightly from side to side.

"You shouldn't have been able to get here," the man said ominously.

"Is there someone else I could talk to?" she asked, sighing. She leaned to the left, trying to look through the door. "Hello?" she called into the house.

"Now look here—" the man said, growling, but he was cut off as a tall woman appeared behind him.

"Max, go back there and tell Jackie we've got trouble up front," the tall woman ordered. She was well-muscled and brown-skinned, with a suspicious glare in her dark eyes. Meek as a kit, the big man obeyed her.

"You're at the wrong house, girlie," the tall woman said warningly.

"Can I come in?" she asked. "I need to use the bathroom." That was a word she had learned from Ryan. He had said that was what the Twoleg dirt places were called, and that it would be a good reason to bother a stranger.

The tall woman looked uncomfortable. "I—alright, but be _quick_, missy."

Finchwing beamed at her. "Thank you!" She darted inside and wandered down a hall, her heart pounding. What if she ran into someone who recognized her from the fight?

"Girl, the bathroom's that way!" the tall woman bellowed after her, pointing the opposite direction. Finchwing turned around and babbled apologies, walking the right way this time.

Inside the room, she clumsily did her business and washed up. This was not her first time using a human bathroom—she had needed to relieve herself while in the Crimsens' house, too, but she still wasn't used to it.

She was about to slip out of the room and go on to further distract the guards of the house when she heard a familiar voice.

"You let her _in_?" Jackie demanded. Finchwing froze. The gang leader would almost certainly recognize her. She was trapped.

There was a loud hammering at the door. Finchwing looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon, hating that humans didn't have claws.

Just as she grabbed a bar of soap, which wouldn't be much help, she knew, the door burst open. Jackie and the tall woman rushed in, but Finchwing threw her bar of soap into the gang leader's face. Jackie, caught off guard, stepped back, spluttering. In those few precious seconds, Finchwing ran out of the room, narrowly evading capture, and raced into the hall.

She had made it back to the door when Jackie and the tall woman caught up to her. Across the street, she spotted Ryan, gazing her anxiously. She waved a hand to him, shouting, "Go! Go!"

He shook his head and started to cross the street to come to her aid when Finchwing felt the hands grab her shoulders and waist. Ryan halted mid-step and watched in horror as she was dragged inside the house.

"You promised! _Go_!" Finchwing screamed. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was Ryan turning to obey her desperate cries. They had her now, but at least he was safe, Finchwing thought. Then everything went dark.


	20. Chapter 20

We're nearing the end, my friends. Enjoy this chapter.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY**

* * *

The door opened suddenly, momentarily blinding Grayfeather with light from the hall. In walked two people she didn't recognize, one a young boy who looked to be about Kyle's age, the other a tall woman. Behind them was the short woman from before. The boy wouldn't meet her challenging gaze, but the tall woman scowled at her.

"Up," she snapped to Grayfeather, forcefully grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to her feet. The boy helped Poolgaze to her feet in a more gentle manner.

"Gentler, Macey," the short woman ordered. "They want her unhurt."

"Fine, Jackie," Macey, the tall woman, sighed. Grayfeather tried to wrench her arm out of Macey's hand, but the tall woman's grip was like iron.

"Come, Cameron," the short woman, Jackie, ordered. "Your parents are waiting."

Mutely, Cameron steered Poolgaze out of the room. Macey pushed Grayfeather after them. Jackie led the group down the hall and some steps.

Grayfeather could now get a good look at her captors. Jackie was short, with dark brown hair and olive skin. Macey was very tall and incredibly strong, with dark brown skin and curly brown hair. Cameron's skin was light, his hair straw-colored, and terror filled his hazel eyes.

Poolgaze was frightened. She had told Grayfeather all about her second dream from the Originals. Grayfeather was afraid, too. What had happened to cause their captors to move forward in their plans so soon? Were they to be killed now, or were they only to be interrogated?

At last, Jackie stopped and opened a door.

"We've got the girls," she called into a room.

"Good," a chilly female voice said. Grayfeather shivered. She didn't like that voice, not at all. "Max has brought the children. Go, continue to guard. Be on the alert for any more rescuers—and _don't_ let them get away this time."

"You owe me extra, Silena," Jackie said warningly. "This is more than any of the Little Teeth had agreed to."

"You'll get your pay," a man's voice growled.

"We'd better," Macey grumbled. She and Jackie left. Cameron let go of Poolgaze and made move to go, but Silena stopped him.

"Stay, boy," she commanded. Reluctantly, he stopped.

The two people emerged from the shadows and into the scant light. Now Grayfeather could see them better.

Silena was a cold kind of beautiful, with long hair so golden-white it was almost silvery. She must be the human version of the Silver that Annie had spoken of earlier. Her husband was hideous, with a large nose, short stature, and a permanent scowl. Cameron had his father's hair and hazel eyes, but his mother's height and fair disposition.

The boy himself was subdued and silent. Grayfeather wondered what was going through his mind, but only briefly. She was quickly distracted by Silena's words.

"Well met, messengers," she purred cruelly. "I hope you enjoyed your stay."

"We most certainly did not!" Poolgaze interrupted hotly. "Set us free, you steaming piles of fox-dung!"

"Now _that's_ an insult I haven't heard in a while," the ugly man grunted. He must be Pigface, Grayfeather thought. She said nothing, knowing it was useless.

"Be quiet," Silena snapped. "You too, Dan. This is no light matter." She folded her arms crossly. "Now. Have you anything to say in your last moments? Give it some thought. You have about ten minutes to live."

"What if we tried to fight?" Poolgaze demanded. "We could run—"

Dan flipped on another light, revealing two terrified children, bound and gagged, huddled in the corner. Grayfeather's heart lurched: it was Mason and Holly.

"If you fight, they die," Silena said in mock sweetness. Poolgaze shut up immediately.

_This adventure has made her brave, but not _that _brave,_ Grayfeather thought. _Not reckless. That's good. I guess._

"What are you going to do with us?" she asked, trying not to sound timid.

"We are going to sacrifice you, raising the spirit of our master to life," Silena answered. Even though Poolgaze had informed her of that already, it still sent chills down Grayfeather's spine to hear it confirmed.

"It will be all the easier now that we have your sister," Dan crowed.

Grayfeather gasped. They had Finchwing now too? Poolgaze had predicted trouble, but she had not imagined this!

"Where is she?" she demanded. "Where have you put her?"

"Right there," Dan said, pointing behind them.

Grayfeather and Poolgaze whirled around. She gasped in shock. Finchwing was bound and gagged, staring at them in helpless fear. How had they not noticed her before?

Grayfeather raced over to her sister, Poolgaze right behind her. She tore off the binds that tied her as Poolgaze removed the gag. Finchwing stretched out her raw, sore limbs, then stumbled to her feet, glaring claws at Dan and Silena. Furiously, without even saying a word, she limped toward them with evil intent.

"No!" Grayfeather shouted, grabbing her sister. Poolgaze grabbed her other arm, helping to restrain her.

"Lemme at 'em!" she cried out, struggling.

"You can't!" Poolgaze said, her voice cracking. "They'll kill Mason and Holly if you do!"

Finchwing drooped. Grayfeather held onto her for a few moments more. When it was clear she did not intend to fight, she let go of her.

"Come here," Dan ordered. Silena took out a long, glinting claw-like weapon and fingered it menacingly. She stood ominously close to the huddling, terrified children. Grayfeather bet that thing could kill them.

Reluctantly, Poolgaze took the first step forward. Grayfeather and Finchwing followed her, a sinking sense of dread filling the stomach of the former.

"Cameron," Silena said softly. The boy in the corner flinched noticeably out of the corner of her eye. "Cameron, dear...it's time."

Even though fear showed plainly throughout every inch of his body, Cameron shuffled toward them. He took out a small candle from his pocket and placed it on a small candle from his pocket and placed it on the ground. He took a piece of chalk and drew a circle around the candle.

"Go in there," he order the girls quietly.

Poolgaze obeyed with a resigned slump in her shoulders, Finchwing with a furious clench in her jaw. Grayfeather did not go quite yet, turning to face him.

"Why do you do this?" she asked, trying not to sound desperate.

"Because I have to," he whispered, looking at his feet. "Go in the circle."

Silena tapped her weapon loudly. Gritting her teeth, Grayfeather obeyed.

Cameron leaned in and lit the candle. Silena and Dan stepped forward and began to murmur under their breath. Grayfeather couldn't quite make out what it was they were saying, but it sent a chill down her spine. If she had still been a cat, all her fur would have been standing on end.

Then she suddenly felt all the warmth be sucked out of the room. She shivered in the cold, bumps appearing on her thinly-furred human arms.

"Is it ready?" a new voice, crackling with malice and evil, said.

Poolgaze gasped. "The voice from my dream!" she whispered to Grayfeather and Finchwing. "It's Dashwind!"

"Y-yes, M-master," Cameron stammered.

"Good," Dashwind's disembodied voice hissed. "I have been a spirit for far too long...raise me now a body with innocents' blood!"

Cameron took a deep breath, drawing a claw-like weapon of his own out of his pocket.

"I'm sorry," he told Grayfeather quietly, finally meeting her eyes with his own fear-filled, hazel ones. "I truly am."

Grayfeather closed her eyes and prepared for death. How odd it was she was to die as a Twoleg instead of a cat, not in battle as she had hoped, but in a sick, evil sacrifice she could not stop. But she had tried her best, at least, to end it. She only wished her death would mean something, to end this evil, instead of aiding it.

She felt the weapon graze her throat, and she waited for the end. Only, it never came.

From behind her, there was a shout. Her eyes flew open, and the claw-weapon clattered to the floor. Cameron had frozen in shock.

The door burst open, and through it streamed five familiar faces: Annie, Ryan, Sam, Kyle, and Sammy. Grayfeather's heart lifted and she began to hope again.

Silena raced forward to join them in battle, Dan behind her. Cameron watched them, distracted, his mouth agape.

"Go on, boy," Dashwind's voice urged.

Grayfeather's heart clenched in fear, but Cameron ignored the words of the spirit, looking at the battle instead. She closed her eyes and wished she was home in ThunderClan's camp, safe and happy. But it didn't change anything—she was still a human, and still about to die.


	21. Chapter 21

Here's the climactic chapter! Can we make it to 100 reviews?

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE**

* * *

Cameron watched in horror as around him, the plan fell apart. Somehow the rescuers had made it inside.

He did not want to do this. He did not want to do this at all. He never had, never, but he hadn't had a choice. There was no choice in this bloody business, no choice other than death, for either oneself or others.

Cameron had always known that. He had been raised knowing that. But it didn't make him feel any better in the face of murder and sacrifice in cold blood. The kidnapping had been bad enough.

Now he had learned the real purpose of his life. His parents had been planning this moment, biding their time and preparing, for sixteen years. He had been born for one specific purpose: to perform the sacrifice. To raise the spirit of Dashwind.

Until that day, he had not even known the spirit's name. He still did not know why Dashwind's spirit needed raising, or what he had done to make him so evil. His parents refused to tell him. Dan Green had slapped him when he asked, while Silena looked on scornfully and called him names.

He hated this. He hated _them_. But there was nothing he could do to stop them. He was trapped into his parents' will.

"Cameron!" Silena called out. He flinched. She had started calling him by his name instead of just "boy". He was not used to this change. He knew she was just trying to get on his good side, to be nice to him, but he didn't think she even knew what the proper definition of "nice" was.

"Cameron, keep going!" she cried out again. "Your father and I will take care of this!"

He frowned and gritted his teeth, his brows furrowing anxiously. Slowly, he picked up the knife he had dropped on the floor.

"Don't do this," the middle girl warned him. He shivered at her words. She unnerved him. The ginger, the angry one, had glared at him and swore in some archaic, animal-like speech, and the small one cowered away from him with hate, but the middle one showed no fear. She defied him easily, and he was spooked.

"I have to," he mumbled in response. "They'll kill me if I don't."

"It must happen," Dashwind's voice whispered. "Raise me a body, Cameron Green, and you will be justly rewarded."

Cameron's hand, the one holding the blade, trembled. He really didn't want to do this. He had never wanted to hurt or kill anybody. All he wanted was to be safe, and if possible, loved. Living with Dan and Silena, aiding Dashwind's bloody endeavors, he had never had that. And if he continued to live like this, he never would.

He took a step back. Dan and Silena and a few of their bully boys under Jackie's command were fighting with the rescuers. The girls cowered in front of him. The two children huddled in fear in the corner.

"Is it peace you want, Cameron?" Dashwind asked softly. "Love? A warm embrace? I know you hate your parents. They hate you, too. They would be happy if you died. I can fake your death, whisk you away to a new life. No one will know the difference. I have power, Cameron, but only a body will let me _use_ that power. Kill the girls. Let me rise. I will reward you."

Cameron was sorely tempted. To live away from Dan and Silena? To be happy? To be loved? He wanted that badly. He really did. But was killing these innocent girls worth it? And would Dashwind keep his promises?

"What else will you do, if you rise? Aside from rewarding your followers?" he asked, clutching the knife with sweaty hands.

"I will gain power and leadership in this world, then in another, until all is under my command. I will bring peace to all lands. Is that not what you want?"

"Peace," Cameron whispered. "But why does your spirit need raising in the first place?"

Dashwind's voice turned dark. "I was in love, once. But I was denied. I wandered for seasons."

_Seasons?_ Cameron thought. _Doesn't he mean years?_

"I fell in love again," the spirit growled. "This time I was happier. But we were divided, our one son taken from me." His voice cracked. "Then she died. I had been lonely for so long, but now I was entirely alone. I had no hope, no happiness. I began a war to avenge her, but our son was killed in that war."

Cameron was confused. How old _was_ this spirit? Or was he speaking about one of these other worlds he had mentioned? He couldn't recall any wars like that which had taken place even in the last fifty years.

"I died as well," Dashwind continued, and now Cameron was even more befuddled. "I fled back to this world, but when I tried to find peace, there was none."

The heartache and sadness in his voice was obviously real. Cameron felt sympathy for him amidst his confusion. But still there was more for him to tell.

"My second death was a tragic accident to the outside world," Dashwind said, and now his tone turned from aching grief to malicious. "But I refused to bow to the will of the powerfully fortunate, and became a power all my own. I must rise, then bring the worlds together, so all will be peace and no harm will come to any ever again."

Cameron's head spun. He barely understood any of this, besides the deep emotion the voice portrayed. He did realize one thing, though. "You're crazy." Even if he had been hurt, he was nuts.

"That's what they all say," Dashwind snarled. "But I am _powerful_. Obey me, and be happy! Defy me, and fall."

"Don't listen to him," the middle girl said.

Cameron looked at the knife in his hands. Then he looked at the girls, and his parents. Something hardened within him.

"I will do what I must do," he said quietly.

"No!" the girl protested, but Cameron turned aside. He saw Silena in the fray and snuck up behind her.

"Mother," he growled, and he stabbed her in the back with his knife.

"No!" Dashwind's voice screamed.

Silena gasped in shock and pain and turned around. The knife was long, and she was skinny, and thus Cameron could see the blade sticking out through her front. Cameron yanked it out and let the blood flow.

She smiled at him weakly, a smile full of malice and hate, then drove her own dagger into Cameron's belly.

Fire erupted in his midriff. Together, he and his mother crumpled to the floor. He knew he was as good as dead. Blood pounded in his ears, and he was deaf to the world.

"Traitor...son...Cameron..." Silena croaked, and then she died. He thought it was rather fitting that his name, a title she had avoided saying for sixteen years, was her last word.

Cameron smiled. He could see someone—two someones—above him. One, a gloriously beautiful woman, reached out her hand.

"Come with us," Cameron, she said gently.

"Your suffering is over," the equally divine man beside her added.

"Will I be loved?" he whispered, his vision blurring until they were the only things he saw in the blackness surrounding him.

"For all time," the woman answered.

He sighed in relief, a smile still spread across his lips, then went still. He was gone.

* * *

**A/N:** What Dashwind says is kind of confusing, and it doesn't make any sense to anyone but himself (and me), so if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll try to answer them in the last chapter :)


	22. Chapter 22

seriously guys let's make it to 100 reviews before this story ends! (please?)

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO**

Mason watched the scene around him in mute horror. He had spent the past two days—he thought it had been that long, time was difficult without clocks and light—in captivity, trying to keep the oft-crying Holly calm. He wanted his mother back, and now he could see her, but she was too far away.

As soon as the teenaged boy and the evil blonde lady stabbed each other and presumably died, a spell seemed to break over the group. The resisters fled, leaving one of their member, the ugly man, unconscious on the floor.

Grayfeather knocked the candle over and scuffed the chalk circle. The screaming disembodied voice cut off immediately, the scant warmth returning to the room.

Mason, clutching his little sister's hand, suddenly felt less afraid. As soon as Grayfeather had raced over and loosened their bonds, Mason grabbed Holly and stumbled toward his beautiful mother.

"Mom! Mom!" he shouted. Annie sobbed and opened her arms, allowing her youngest two children to embrace her tightly. All three were sobbing by the time they let go. Then their father Ryan came up to them and they hugged him, too.

The three girls had come up to them, too. Auntie Sam was talking with them. Mason caught Kyle's eye, and then another hug was in order—then another when Sammy came up to him and Holly, too.

"We're safe," Annie sighed, holding Holly in her protective arms. "All of us. I can't believe it."

"I suppose we'd better call the police," Ryan said wearily, "though how we're going to explain this is beyond me."

Suddenly, in the middle of the air, two glorious human figures appeared. Mason, too tired to be scared, squinted up at them in awe.

"Are you angels?" he asked.

"No, child," the male figure said with a kind smile. "We are Originals, the first humans. I am First, and this is Also."

"Do not worry about the police," Also told Ryan. "Leave that matter to us."

"So you can clean up our mess, but not help us out in the mess-making?" Annie said, raising one eyebrow.

"We restore order when things are calm," First explained. "You restore order when they are chaotic. It is a special talent of yours."

Mason saw Poolgaze's clear blue eyes widen. He wondered what she was thinking. He resolved to ask her later.

Also snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the room was in neat order, tidy and well lit. the ugly man, still knocked out, sat tied to a chair. Beside him were two coffins: one black, lined in silver; the other a rich cherry color.

Mason walked over to inspect the coffins. "Silena Chase Green," he read off the writing on the black coffin. "Formerly known as Silver. She abides in a place of no remembrance, and will not harm any ever again."

"That's a relief," Annie sighed. Mason noticed that all their clothes were washed, their bodies celan. The Originals had done their work on the humans, too.

He moved over to the second coffin. "Cameron Dennis Green. He is loved now among others who suffered once as he did."

"Poor boy," Grayfeather sighed. "He deserved better."

"He's happy now," First said. "He made the right choice."

"What happened to Dashwind?" Finchwing asked.

"He fled when the circle broke," Also said with a nod to Grayfeather. "He is gone, and weakened greatly...for now. If he does regain his strength again, it will not be in your lifetimes. Your descendents will have to worry about him, if they need worry at all."

"Peace at last," Auntie Sam grumbled. "I need to go back to my books. No more adventures to me!"

"And _him_?" Sammy asked, pointing to the chair where the ugly man was all tied up.

"The police will be arriving here shortly, acting on an anonymous tip off," Also informed them. "We will take care of the coffins, but they will find the gang known as the Little Teeth loitering upstairs and Dan Green downstairs with all his paperwork. He won't be bothering you again."

"Good," Kyle said in relief. "I'm done with being kidnapped."

"I suggest you return home immediately, before the cops arrive," First advised. "The tip off made no mention of you."

"Let's go, boys," Annie said firmly, deep relief in her voice. She turned to First and Also. "Can we get out the same way we got in?"

"If you hurry," Also said. "Good luck. We'll meet you back at your home. There's one last thing we have to do."

"What—" Annie began, but the Originals had vanished, the two coffins along with them.

"This way," Ryan said, leading the way out of the room. Mason followed him, feeling very tired all of a sudden. He couldn't wait to get home.

* * *

The trek back to the Crimsen family's house was a slow one, but they managed to make it out of the Greens' neighborhood before they heard the far-off sounds of police sirens.

Mason's feet hurt all the way home, but he didn't complain. He was too glad to somehow, miraculously, be safe. He did really want a nap, though.

He remembered his captivity vividly: endless hours of clutching Holly's hand, eating on occasion something that tasted vaguely like oatmeal, and sleeping fitfully. His captors were far from kind, thought until they had begun their ritual, they hadn't really bothered them.

On the way home, he learned the whole story: how Kyle, Grayfeather, and Poolgaze had been captured while going to rescue them, how the Originals had aided his parents, Auntie Sam, Sammy, and Finchwing in finding the house they had been held in, how they had rescued Kyle, how Finchwing had been captured, how the remaining rescuers had snuck their way down into the basement.

Only Annie, Ryan, and Auntie Sam really seemed to understand what Dashwind had told the Cameron boy, but them only to a certain degree. After Cameron had stabbed his mother, Silver (as Annie called her, the others called her Silena), Grayfeather had scuffed the line and knocked down the candle, plunging Dashwind's spirit back where he came from.

They speculated what it was the Originals had to do when they got home, but Mason tuned them out, not really understanding everything. It was too much.

Holly walked beside him, yawning. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and held his own hand with her other.

"Are we going home, Mason?" she asked through a sleepy yawn.

"Yeah, Holly," he said, squeezing her hand. "We are."


	23. Chapter 23

Here comes the big moment...thanks so much for 100 reviews!

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE**

* * *

When they arrived in the Crimsen house, the Originals were waiting for them.

Poolgaze watched as Mason ignored their presence and collapsed on a couch. Holly curled up next to him. She, too, was tired after her long captivity, but she was mostly afraid of what the Originals would say.

"What is it this time?" Annie asked, sounding more than a little bit irritated. "Are we done or not?"

"You have completed your task," First said. "It was not our fault that what happened did so. We simply sent you messengers to help you."

Two cats, Star and Moon, whom Poolgaze had not previously noticed sitting at the human Originals' feet, spoke up. "_We_ sent the messengers," Moon said with a sniff.

"We were only trying to help," Star added.

Poolgaze sighed. This adventure was not what she expected at _all_. She was ready to rest, and to go home.

Only, she didn't exactly know where "home" was anymore.

To her surprise, she now felt very comfortable in her human body. She was curious about the human world and how it worked. She wanted to find out more. In the beginning of their adventure, she had felt out of place, too wild for this civilized world, but now she felt at peace. She had once felt a pull and a longing back to her forest home, but it was gone now.

But her family missed her—her mother, her older siblings, her Clan. ThunderClan was on the brink of war. She had to return.

She was surprised to feel sad to go.

All four of the Originals turned to the three girls. Poolgaze stood with Finchwing on her left and Grayfeather on her right.

"Girls," Moon said warmly. "We promised you an adventure through our servant Dovewing. You got one."

"Our need for your presence in this world is over," Also added.

"It's time to go home," Star said.

Grayfeather sighed in relief. "Finally!" she exclaimed.

Poolgaze's heart twinged uneasily. Finchwing said nothing, her expression unreadable.

"You have a choice in front of you," First said. "Whether you will go back to ThunderClan...or to remain remain here as a human."

Poolgaze's heart skipped a beat in shock. She had a choice? She could stay?

No, she had to return. Her Clan needed her.

"I'm going back," Grayfeather said firmly. "This adventure wasn't my idea, and I want to go home." She looked expectantly at her companions.

Poolgaze squirmed uncomfortably. She had realized she wanted to stay, against everything she thought she had known. If both Finchwing _and_ Grayfeather chose to go, she would return back to ThunderClan with only a faint sigh of regret to what could have been. But if Finchwing chose to _stay_...she didn't know what she would do then.

For several long moments, the three girls and their spectators watched them in expectant silence. Clearly, neither Poolgaze or Finchwing wanted to make that final, fatal decision.

"You must choose, girls," Moon said gently. "Make your decision."

At last, Finchwing took a deep breath. Instead of looking at the Originals, she looked directly into her sister's eyes.

"Grayfeather," she said, her voice softer and more tender than Poolgaze could ever recall it being, "you know I would follow you into battle and death if the need arose."

"I would do the same for you," Grayfeather whispered in reply. "But...you're not following me back to ThunderClan, are you?"

Finchwing blinked, tearing up. Poolgaze felt like a rude intruder on this intensely private moment between the sisters.

"I'm staying here," the ginger-haired girl said simply. "I was promised an adventure. I've had danger and heartache, but I want excitement and fun now. Here it will always be something new. Back in the forest...life will just be the same thing, over and over again. You might find it reassuring, that routine and repetition, but to me that's boring. It's crazy, but...I feel more at home here than I even did in the ThunderClan camp."

Grayfeather nodded, sniffling and wiping away tears of her own. "I don't understand," she admitted, "but I know you don't make this decision lightly. I want to go _home_, Finchwing. To my home, among the trees. Among my Clan."

Poolgaze took a step back as the sisters clasped hands.

"I'll miss you, Grayfeather," Finchwing whispered. "You will always be with me. And even though I choose to be human now, I will always be wild at heart."

They embraced. Poolgaze thought she saw Annie wiping her eyes in the background. Sammy's eyes were wide, Kyle's hand covering his mouth. Sam's eyebrows were raised, a smile twitching at the corner of her lips. Ryan smiled gently, a knowing and empathetic look filling his gaze. Poolgaze remembered that he, too, had needed to say goodbye to his brother, Jayfeather, when the legendary medicine cat had left to live with his beloved in the mountains, and again to his Clan when he himself had turned into a Twoleg to live with Annie.

Poolgaze cleared her throat. She was ready to make her own decision. She felt no pull back to the forest and the Clan as Grayfeather did, but neither did she feel the yearning for adventure so apparent in Finchwing. Mostly, she wanted to go home, but she was no longer sure where home was.

The Originals watched, expressionless. She would find no counsel in them. The watchers had no answers for her, either.

She glanced over at the half-asleep Mason. He noticed her look and smiled at her, showing all his teeth in a sleepy grin, at the same time making a fist in both hands and sticking his thumbs up. She didn't know what that meant to humans, but she smiled back.

She would have a home here, she knew.

"I have made my decision," she announced.

Both Finchwing and Grayfeather looked at her with pleas in their eyes. Poolgaze couldn't meet their gazes, instead looking directly at the Originals.

"I want a home," she explained, "but I don't that home is in ThunderClan. Not anymore."

She glanced at Grayfeather's face. The warrior's heart was broken, showing clearly on her face. Poolgaze felt torn in two. She wanted to go with both Grayfeather _and_ Finchwing. This felt too much like choosing between them, even though really she was choosing between two lives, two futures.

"I'm staying here," she said softly.

Grayfeather nodded, a forced smile on her face. "I"ll miss you, too, Poolgaze," she said, "even though you're not tagging along with me anymore."

They embraced, and Poolgaze breathed in her friend's scent one last time. When they broke apart, the Originals were smiling.

"Say your last goodbyes, Grayfeather," First commanded. "It will be a long time before you see them again."

Grayfeather turned to the Crimsens and Sam Xavier. "Thank you for taking us in," she said. "And for coming after us when we were kidnapped."

"Hey, no problem," Sam said. "It was the right thing to do."

"You're welcome," Ryan said, and his words were echoed by the rest of his family.

"One thing, before you go," Annie said. She pulled something out of her pocket. "I'm going to take a picture of you three, so you two can have something to look back on when you miss Grayfeather, okay?"

"Take a what?" Grayfeather asked, confused. Poolgaze watch in puzzlement as Annie held up a rectangular piece of metal.

"A picture," Annie explained. "It's like...a still version of your images."

"Okay," Finchwing said, confused.

Annie positioned them just so, then told them to smile. They all did. She tapped the rectangle. There was a clicking noise, then Annie turned the thing around to show them a frozen image of what had just been a moment before.

"_Cool_," Finchwing whispered.

Annie put the rectangle back into her pocket, then winked at Grayfeather. "Take good care of my Clan, okay?" she said. "I don't want to go back, but I do want them to be happy."

"I will," she promised. Then she smiled at Poolgaze. "Have fun here, Tagalong."

Taking a deep breath, she turned to her sister.

"Remember when you dragged us all to the Twoleg nest?" she asked Finchwing. When the red-haired girl nodded, Grayfeather continued, "I said I didn't have a sense of wonder." She smiled, a tear falling down her face. "I was wrong. I see that now. Thank you for helping me see, Finchwing. I love you. I'll never forget you."

"I love you too, sis," Finchwing whispered. They hugged one last time. Then Grayfeather turned to the Originals.

"I'm ready," she told them.

"Goodbye," Poolgaze murmured.

The Originals all bowed their heads in unison. Grayfeather shimmered, then vanished. She was gone.

Star and Moon had gone along with her. Only First and Also now remained. They turned to Annie and Ryan.

"You will have the sufficient funds to keep the girls here with you," First said. "We will provide it. Teach them the ways of humans."

"You will find that we have given you a new basement room," Also added. "The girls can live there."

"What will we tell everyone?" Annie asked. "About where they came from, why they're living with us?"

"Ryan was adopted through the foster care system, which we arranged," First said. "We will make it so everyone knows you were looking into doing something similar, since you knew how it can help teenagers."

"Tell them that it finally came through, and you got these two girls, who are sisters," Also said.

"But we're not," Poolgaze objected.

"Sometimes you have to lie," the Original said with a shrug. "You're technically cousins, you know. Second cousins. The Clans don't really care about that kind of thing, but it's true. At the very least you should go by the same last name."

"Fine," Finchwing agreed. Annie and Ryan nodded their consent to the plan, too.

"If you have any more questions, find us in your dreams, or Star and Moon," First said. "We got you into this. We'll help you get out."

"And aside from that, I don't think you'll be seeing any more of us," Also said. "Star and Moon may have an occasional prophecy for you to deliver, Annie, but we'll leave you well alone how. You deserve peace, Anneliese Betheny Eyre."

Annie sighed. "For real this time?"

"For real," First confirmed. With that, they vanished.

Ryan turned two the girls. "Well, girls," he said with a smile, "welcome to your new home."


	24. Chapter 24

Here's the last chapter! I hope you like it, and thank you so much for all the reviews.

(As usual, there will be a bonus oneshot and some extra info about that didn't fit into the story, which means two more chapters after this one, but this is the last full chapter.)

Also, I'm going out of town for two weeks, so I'm not sure when those last two chapters will be uploaded. I should get them up before September, though.

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR**

* * *

It took Finchwing a while to get used to being a human. Every morning, she woke up in her bed and thought she was a cat, even though she knew she wasn't.

Poolgaze was in a similar state. Finchwing was very glad that the Tagalong had decided to stay behind with her. It made her feel less alone in this big new world.

At least her new world was exciting. Every day there were a million new things she could learn: what a _car_ was, how to work a _television_, what _books_ were...she had been astonished to learn that humans could turn words into symbols and easily understand them. Annie, who was a private mentor, as she had explained, was now teaching her how to read, the skill of understanding those symbols.

Ryan, who had once been Lionblaze, one of the Three, was a great resource to the two cat-humans, as he was also one of them. Finchwing was amazed to find out that he had been thrown into the human world without any help at all. She was impressed by his luck and diligence in this strange new world.

Annie and Ryan had explained their presence as their new foster children to several close friends and relatives. They had even told Gennie, one of their human-cat friends, about the real reason they were there.

Tonight, they were going to be telling the tale to Hannah, another old friend and human-cat. Finchwing was nervous—she had not been present when Annie and Ryan had told Gennie, but she and Poolgaze were to be practicing their cover on Hannah that night before revealing the truth.

Sam had planned to come, but she was still stuck in traffic (when too many Twolegs used their monsters at once, Finchwing had learned) by the time Hannah came.

Hannah Cavonal was a kind-looking woman with glasses (pieces of clear material to enhance poor vision). Annie welcomed her into the Crimsen home and introduced the girls.

"Hannah, I'd like you to meet the girls!" she said, gesturing to Poolgaze and Finchwing. "Francesca and Polly Warner."

"Hi, I'm Hannah Cavonal," Hannah said, waving. "How did you two come to live here?"

Finchwing took a deep breath and said, "Oh, we're their foster kids."

"Oh, that's nice," Hannah said, nodding. "Did you know Ryan—?"

"—was a foster kid too?" Poolgaze interrupted. "Yeah, they told us." She smiled.

Annie and Hannah chatted for a while. The two girls watched in an uncomfortable silence.

Then there was another knock on the door. Finchwing rushed to answer it.

"Sam!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, walking in. "You're looking good, Finchwing!"

"Finchwing?" Hannah asked. "Isn't that a...warrior name?"

"So you believed it, then?" Annie asked, laughing.

Of course, things had to be explained. Hannah quickly accepted the tale, having no reason not to. They had an enjoyable dinner together, but at the end of it, Finchwing had an announcement to make.

"I don't want you calling me Finchwing anymore," she said. "I'm not a warrior now, I'm a human. _We're_ humans," she added, looking at Poolgaze. "We should act like it now."

"Yeah," Poolgaze agreed. "Don't call me Poolgaze. I'm Polly."

"And I'm Francesca," Francesca said. She smiled, finally feeling at home.

The moment was ruined by Kyle racing into the kitchen from the TV room, his eyes wide with excitement. "Sam!" he exclaimed. "Your episode of Blue Moon, the one you co-wrote, it was on tonight, and—I just watched it—it was amazing and—"

"Get to the point, Kyle!" Sam said, wearing a knowing smile.

"You did it! You made Bridgemy canon!" he shouted, grinning from ear to ear.

"Anything for you kid," Sam said, and winked.

Francesca smiled.

* * *

Grayfeather woke by the Moonpool. In great relief, she examined her cat body. She purred happily, feeling at home in her form at last.

Dovewing walked toward her, still faintly glowing. "You're back!" she exclaimed. "But where are the other two?"

Her momentary delight faded when Grayfeather remembered those she left behind. What would the Clan think? What would she say?

"They...chose to stay," she answered. "They're not coming back."

"Oh," Dovewing said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Well, _I'm_ going back," she said, "and I need to return to my Clan. It's been too long."

"Only a couple of days," Dovewing told her.

"It felt like moons," Grayfeather sighed.

"You should go back home now," Dovewing said.

"What will I tell the Clan?" she moaned. "That they're dead?"

"Tell them you were sent on a journey a long way away," Dovewing said soothingly. "That StarClan has forbidden you to tell more. That they chose not to return. It's not even a lie. Well, mostly."

"I will," she whispered. "I miss them already."

"Do you regret your decision?" Dovewing asked.

Grayfeather frowned. She breathed in the cool night air, felt the wind ruffling through her pelt, felt _alive_. She felt at peace.

"No," she said at last. "I'm a cat. I'm wild at heart, and I must stay true to my nature. But I do miss them."

"Good," Dovewing said. "It would be wrong if you didn't.

Grayfeather stood and stretched. "I should go back to camp now," she said.

"Good luck!" Dovewing called as she departed. "And if you ever feel lonely, come visit me. I know how it is to see others move on and to stay where my heart lies even when alone. Besides, I never get company."

"I will," she promised, then she smiled and walked away toward her home.

* * *

There were many explanations to be made. ThunderClan was devastated at the loss of Finchwing and Poolgaze, but they were relieved that that the two she-cats were at least happy and alive. She was welcomed back warmly, and nobody thought twice about whether her story was true or not.

Embertail, Poolgaze's mother, was full of grief, as were Grayfeather and Finchwing's own parents. Guiltily, she recalled that they had not even considered her cat families when making their decisions.

Instead, she made up a tale that the two who had stayed behind did so out of duty and regretted leaving the Clan and their families. It made ThunderClan feel better, and it made Grayfeather feel better, too, even though she knew it wasn't true.

Thorntail, the irritating tom who had been hitting on Finchwing, bothered her for details concerning her sister's remarks about him. Finally, Grayfeather snapped and told him, "She said she was glad to be rid of you, even though she missed the _rest_ of the Clan."

Thorntail didn't talk to her after that. She didn't mind.

After she had settled back into Clan life, Grayfeather visited the Twoleg nest. This place felt different to her now that she knew what it was supposed to look like in its prime condition, and how she knew she would never be forced into exploring it with Finchwing and Poolgaze.

She missed them, with every breath, and she felt alone. But she knew she had made the right choice. She knew _they_ had made the right choices for themselves, too. She only wished it could be the right choice for her, too.

But this was how it stood. Grayfeather sat among the plant-covered Twoleg nest alone, and she sighed.

"I miss you," she said aloud. "I hope you're happy."

She felt the grass beneath her feet and the smell of the forest in her nose. She felt comfortable in her own skin. She thought of life among the Clan, and what it felt like to hunt, and to fight, and to be surrounded by those like her...and _she_ felt happy, too.

"I'll see you again someday," she said to the air. "But for now..._I'm_ happy, even if I'm without you."

She stood and left, going back to the Clan, but she felt her sense of wonder, newly regained, smile. So she smiled, too.

The adventure was over. But the story goes on...

* * *

**THE FINAL END.**


	25. Chapter 25: The Peacekeeper

This is the second-to-last chapter! Thank you so much for reading, and enjoy my final little epilogue.

* * *

**BONUS ONESHOT  
****THE PEACEKEEPER**

* * *

Anneliese Betheny Eyre Crimsen was an old woman. She was eighty-nine years old, pushing for ninety, her children joked, though she herself didn't think she would make it. No, she _knew_ she wouldn't make it. Her body was frail, but she was hardy, and her mind was entirely there, but she had spoken with StarClan and knew her time was near.

She was hanging on for only one more thing: the birth of her first great-grandchild. Polly had informed her of what the Originals had told her about her position as Peacekeeper. She certainly didn't _feel_ like a Peacekeeper but it did make a certain amount of sense.

Her great-granddaughter had been born two days previously. Aradina Anneliese Crimsen, the baby girl was named, her middle name coming from her great-grandmother Annie's own first name.

The baby's grandmother, Polly, the girl who had once been called Poolgaze, had, after several years of life in the human world, married Annie's own son, Mason. Sammy had a wife now, too—not Finchwing, of course; a sweet girl named Ella—but their only child never had his own children.

Annie's second son, Kyle, never married, being completely happy and satisfied without romance. And her only daughter, Holly, had several children, though none of them had children yet (one was expecting, but that didn't quite count). So thus Aradina was her first great-grandchild.

Annie's husband Ryan had passed away two years previously. She had been sad, but she spoke with him in StarClan. She knew she would see him again.

Annie wasn't sure _how_ she knew it, but she did no one thing: Aradina Crimsen would be the next Peacekeeper after her own death. She had to stay alive, just to see the baby girl.

Aradina's parents were on their way with the baby girl. They lived half an hour away from Annie's retirement home. The father was her grandson, Alexander, the son of Polly and Mason. The mother was a wonderfully nice girl named Natalie Keep before her marriage. Annie loved them fondly.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," she rasped.

In walked Alexander and Natalie. The young woman carried a sleeping baby in her arms, and both wore big smiles.

Annie smiled at them in return. "Alex," she greeted her grandson, "Natalie! It's wonderful to see you. And this must be baby Aradina!"

"Grandma," Alex greeted her gladly. Natalie smiled at her. "I suppose you'd like to hold her?"

Annie reached out her frail old arms and took the baby from Natalie. What a precious child. She had dark hair and skin like Natalie, but pale, wondrous eyes like Alex. She stroked a lock of hair out of Aradina's face, but the baby, waking up, grabbed her thumb.

Annie laughed. "She's beautiful."

"We named her after you, in part," Alexander said. Annie nodded. The boy was the spitting image of his grandfather in his youth—blond and bright-eyed. Mason and Polly had chosen well when they had given him "Ryan" as a middle name.

"We're going to call her Ara for short," Natalie said. "I think the name is pretty."

"Ara," Annie said gently. Ara giggled. Annie could sense something quite wonderful about this girl. She was special. She would go far. And she would be a good Peacekeeper, in the event the Warriors world needed more peacekeeping. There was still the possibility Dashwind could come back, after all.

Annie was satisfied. She was ready to die now, and she would do so as soon as Alex, Natalie, and Ara had left. But first she wanted to say something nice as her last recorded words.

She held out her arms to give baby Ara back to her parents. As Natalie held her baby, Annie said, "I'm very tired. Thank you for coming to see me, and for bringing the baby, but I'd like to nap now."

"Goodbye, Grandma," Alex said. Natalie murmured the same thing. As they were leaving, Annie called out one last thing.

"One more thing—always remember to tell her, when she's older, that she's not alone. Even when I've gone on—"

"Don't say things like that!" Alex protested, but Annie continued,

"—I'm with her, and so will you be," she said. "I'll always be with her." _I'll guide you from StarClan,_ she though, _because your fate as a Peacekeeper will not be easy. But it will not be lonely._

"We'll tell her," Natalie promised.

Annie nodded and smiled. Then they were gone.

She felt the weight of years upon her, and she prepared for death. This would be an easy death, unlike the others she had experienced as a Clan leader in both ThunderClan and ShadowClan.

Now for her _actual_ last words, known only to herself and the ancestors watching her.

"Now I can truly be at peace," she said, "because there is a new Peacekeeper now. I'm ready, Ryan. Come and take me to StarClan."

She sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she had left her body.

Ryan stood beside her, smiling. Behind him were the four Originals she had unwillingly grown to know so well.

"Peacekeeper," they said as one, and bowed.

She grinned.

"Let's go," Ryan said.

"Yes, let's," Annie agreed, and he led her on into the future.

* * *

**THE LAST END.**


	26. Chapter 26: Bonus Information

:)

* * *

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

_Here's my regular "bonus info" I put at the end of these stories. This time around, there's no allegiances or anything, just a "what happened next that I couldn't fit into the story"._

* * *

**What Happened Next?**

* * *

_Annie  
_After Grayfeather left, she and Ryan settled into a peaceful routine of life. She had two new students to tutor now, Polly and Francesca, only she was teaching them how to be a human. Eventually, they moved out, along with the rest of their children. For years, she and Ryan lived alone but never too far from the rest of their family and friends. At last, when they got too old to take care of themselves, Ryan and Annie moved to a retirement home, where they both died peacefully in their old age. Annie waited to die until the next Peacekeeper, her granddaughter Aradina Crimsen, was born and she could pass on the role to her. In her death, she lived both with StarClan, the Tribe of Endless Hunting, and her relatives in the human afterlife.

_Ryan  
_Ryan's story is very similar to Annie's. He was a huge help to the girls, having had a similar experience in learning to act like a human. He died three years before Annie did, at the age of 86.

_Sam  
_Continued her job as a writer and died at 82.

_Sammy  
_He tried to get together with Francesca but she wasn't very interested, so he let her be. After he completed his senior year of high school, he went to college on a soccer scholarship. He never made it big, but after college he went into engineering for the same company his dad worked at. He married a sweet girl named Ella and had a son, Tristan.

_Kyle  
_After finishing high school, he went to college and got a degree in photography. He became a widely renowned photographer and taught the subject at various high schools near his school. He never married, being uninterested in romance.

_Mason  
_He and Polly dated off and on during high school, but it was never anything serious. After college, he moved back to his parents' hometown to work as an architect. Eventually, he began dating Polly again, and they married when they were in their late twenties. They had three children: Alexander Ryan Crimsen, Sophia Jane Crimsen, and Ava Charlotte Crimsen. Alex was the father of Aradina.

_Holly  
_Holly grew up to be dentist. She married a guy named Luke Fletcher and they had two kids, Matthew and Caitlyn.

_Francesca  
_Francesca eventually grew accustomed to living as a human. With the Originals' help, she managed to make it through two years of high school, then eventually became a reporter.

_Grayfeather  
_Grayfeather lived to a ripe old age in the Clans and then died. Instead of going straight to StarClan, the Originals offered to let her live another life as a human with her sister and Polly. She accepted and lived with them for the rest of her human life.

_Polly  
_Polly also eventually grew accustomed to living as a human. She learned to read ferociously fast and loved books so much she became a librarian. She eventually married Mason and left her job to live with her kids, but as soon as they moved out she went back to the same library.

* * *

**What Could Have Been**

* * *

So, as you probably already know, I had huge ideas for other installments in this series. I won't bore you with the details, but there were five more fics I had in mind.

The one that would have come next was to be about Dashwind and what the heck happened to him to make him so evil. The remaining four would have been about Aradina, Annie's great-granddaughter, and her adventures among the Clans and protecting them from Dashwind because surprise: he's back. Eventually, everything works out and Ara gets to live happily in both the human and cat worlds.

_**EDIT 8/23/15:**_ Due to several reviews containing requests to continue the story with a different author, I would like to make it clear that I do not wish anyone else to write my story. I'm glad you all enjoyed my writing, but my story is finished. It would not be my story if someone else wrote it. I do not give permission for anyone else to continue the Chaos Chronicles, especially since those who asked were not people I am familiar with. Thank you!

* * *

**A Final Thank You**

* * *

So. This is it.

This is the end of the last Warriors fanfic I'm ever going to write.

First, I'd like to thank some people. My 5th grade class comes first, of course; without them and my horribly written versions of them there would be no story. Specifically, I'd like to thank and apologize to the inspirations for Dan and for Dashwind for being horribly mischaracterized into villains. And then I'd like to apologize to the rest of you because I mischaracterized you, too.

Thank you to Shadow, the inspiration for Sam, and to Brainy, the inspiration for Gennie, for being my best friends for a long time and for putting up with the terribleness of the first fic and then the only slightly-less-terrible fics that came after it. Thank you to Buffintruda, the inspiration for Hannah, for being my Beta for this fic even in fifth grade and for not telling me just _how_ stupid it was, and for continual support in this project and many others.

Thank you to my reviewers, from those of you who supported me on the Warriors forums and never got to read past chapter 15 of Reaching Through Time, to those of you who only reviewed Chaos in the Clans, and to those of you who just jumped on board for Meddling with Destiny and Wild at Heart. Thank you especially to those of you who read my writing from the very beginning to the very end, and got to watch me improve, however slightly. You're great, and you really kept me going to the end. And shoutout to The Creek In The Mountains, my most loyal reviewer for this fanfic. You rock.

Thanks to Skye and Wolf for always reviewing up until recently and for being my friends in FroggyClan. Thank you to Castle, too, for being a good friend in this fandom.

Thank you to everyone who ever read any chapter of any of this series, or even just any of my Warriors stories, period. My experience here was a good one, for the most part. You helped make it that way.

There is a reason I'm leaving, though. Warriors is aimed at a 9-12 audience, about. I'm too old for that now, and even while I was 13 I enjoyed it but I just...don't anymore. The writing's too simple, too boring for me now. And while I respect the easily shapeable world Warriors has, one that provides lots of room for fanfiction, most of that fanfiction is, let's face it, awful. Including this one.

This fandom is just not for me anymore. I had a good time, but it's over now. I kind of wish I could have finished this series to my satisfaction, but it just didn't happen.

I'm not leaving fandom altogether, though. About last Christmas, I kind of accidentally joined the Tolkien fandom and that's going to be my new main fandom for which I'm going to write. If you have any interest in the Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, or the Silmarillion, I've already written some stories for them and that's what I'll be uploading from now on, with other fandoms like Les Mis and How to Train Your Dragon thrown in occasionally.

So with that, I leave the Warriors fandom with a final thank you. May StarClan light your path, and to those of you who wish to follow me into the Tolkien fandom..._Mae govannen!_


End file.
